Yesterday a cousin posted on my Facebook page that he would never buy Levi’s again. I wondered what in the world he was talking about, but wasn’t concerned because I don’t wear Levi’s. When I heard his reason, I wished I wore Levi’s so that I could not wear them anymore.<\/p>\n
Jennifer Sey is an accomplished lady. Her biography includes being a 17-year-old gymnast, the reigning national champion<\/a> in 1986, and going to the Soviet Union. She was smart enough to bring 10 pairs of Levi\u2019s 501s with her. She eventually became brand president of Levi Strauss & Co. Jennifer is a lady who speaks her mind. She recently resigned her position with Levi Strauss & Co. so that she could continue to speak her mind.<\/p>\n Substack<\/a> posted her story on Monday.<\/p>\n The article reports:<\/p>\n In 2008, when I was a vice president of marketing, I published a memoir<\/a> about my time as an elite gymnast that focused on the dark side of the sport, specifically the degradation of children. The gymnastics community threatened me with legal action and violence. Former competitors, teammates, and coaches dismissed my story as that of a bitter loser just trying to make a buck. They called me a grifter and a liar. But Levi\u2019s stood by me. More than that: they embraced me as a hero.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Things changed when Covid hit. Early on in the pandemic, I publicly questioned whether schools had to be shut down. This didn\u2019t seem at all controversial to me. I felt\u2014and still do\u2014that the draconian policies would cause the most harm to those least at risk, and the burden would fall heaviest on disadvantaged kids in public schools, who need the safety and routine of school the most.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n I wrote op-eds<\/a>, appeared on local news<\/a> shows, attended meetings with the mayor\u2019s office, organized rallies<\/a> and pleaded on social media to get the schools open. I was condemned for speaking out. This time, I was called a racist\u2014a strange accusation given that I have two black sons\u2014a eugenicist, and a QAnon conspiracy theorist.<\/strong><\/p>\n In the summer of 2020, I finally got the call. \u201cYou know when you speak, you speak on behalf of the company,\u201d our head of corporate communications told me, urging me to pipe down. I responded: \u201cMy title is not in my Twitter bio. I\u2019m speaking as a public school mom of four kids.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n When Jennifer began speaking out against school closings due to Covid, pressure from the company became more intense.<\/p>\n The article reports:<\/p>\n Then, in October 2020, when it was clear public schools were not going to open that fall, I proposed to the company leadership that we weigh in on the topic of school closures in our city, San Francisco. We often take a stand on political issues that impact our employees; we\u2019ve spoken out on gay rights, voting rights, gun safety, and more.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The response this time was different. \u201cWe don\u2019t weigh in on hyper-local issues like this,\u201d I was told. \u201cThere\u2019s also a lot of potential negatives if we speak up strongly, starting with the numerous execs who have kids in private schools in the city.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n I refused to stop talking. I kept calling out hypocritical and unproven policies, I met with the mayor\u2019s office, and eventually uprooted my entire life in California\u2014I\u2019d lived there for over 30 years\u2014and moved my family to Denver<\/a> so that my kindergartner could finally experience real school. We were able to secure a spot for him in a dual-language immersion Spanish-English public school like the one he was supposed to be attending in San Francisco.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n National media picked up on our story<\/a>, and I was asked to go on Laura Ingraham\u2019s show on Fox News. That appearance was the last straw. The comments from Levi\u2019s employees picked up\u2014about me being anti-science; about me being anti-fat (I\u2019d retweeted a study showing a correlation between obesity and poor health outcomes); about me being anti-trans (I\u2019d tweeted that we shouldn\u2019t ditch Mother\u2019s Day for Birthing People\u2019s Day because it left out adoptive and step moms); and about me being racist, because San Francisco\u2019s public school system was filled with black and brown kids, and, apparently, I didn\u2019t care if they died.\u00a0They also castigated me for my husband\u2019s Covid views\u2014as if I, as his wife, were responsible for the things he said on social media.<\/strong><\/p>\n All this drama took place at our regular town halls\u2014a companywide meeting I had looked forward to but now dreaded.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The article notes:<\/p>\n In the last month, the CEO told me that it was \u201cuntenable\u201d for me to stay. I was offered a $1 million severance package, but I knew I\u2019d have to sign a nondisclosure agreement about why I\u2019d been pushed out.<\/strong><\/p>\n The money would be very nice. But I just can\u2019t do it. Sorry, Levi\u2019s.<\/strong><\/p>\n The article concludes:<\/p>\n I\u2019ll always wear my old 501s. But today I\u2019m trading in my job at Levi\u2019s. In return, I get to keep my voice.<\/strong><\/p>\n That’s called courage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yesterday a cousin posted on my Facebook page that he would never buy Levi’s again. I wondered what in the world he was talking about, but wasn’t concerned because I don’t wear Levi’s. When I heard his reason, I wished … Continue reading