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Professional skateboarder says logo on shirt got him kicked off Frontier Airlines flight

Posted at 7:09 AM, Mar 23, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-23 08:12:47-04

(WSB-TV/CNN) - A professional skateboarder believes a shirt with his brand's logo got him kicked off a Frontier Airlines flight.

But the airline says it was his actions not his t-shirt that became a problem.

He makes a living with his skateboard and his brand, but this month Justin Mallory says that's exactly what got him in trouble.

"I was flabbergasted. I was taken aback," said Mallory

The professional skateboarder said he was kicked off a flight departing Atlanta because the logo on his shirt features two guns.

Mallory said the airline told him the shirt made another passenger uncomfortable.

Mallory's lawyer calls it discrimination.

“The shirt, some would say he's dressed in a hip-hop fashion and he's African-American, so those three things may have all contributed to the discrimination and profiling against him," said Mallory’s lawyer Mawuli Davis.

Frontier Airlines refutes that notion.

In a statement to the ABC affiliate WSB-TV in Atlanta, the airline indicated Mallory's shirt and race, had nothing to do with it.

Frontier said: "He became argumentative prior to boarding when asked to check his skateboard. The passenger boarded the aircraft and continued to exhibit disruptive behavior."

"That's totally false," Mallory says.

After getting kicked off the flight, Mallory said he missed a skateboarding trade show where he planned to promote his brand.

Instead, he says, it got him in trouble.

"I hope it doesn't happen to anyone else. I wouldn't wish it on anyone," said Mallory.

Mallory and his lawyer say they are considering a lawsuit.

Courtesy WSB-TV via CNN Newsource