NEWARK, NJ – JANUARY 31: A United Airlines jet sits parked at Newark Liberty International Airport as seen from the window of a Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Blackhawk helicopter ahead of Super Bowl XLVIII on January 31, 2014 in Newark, New Jersey. Helicopters flown by “air interdiction agents” from the CBP’s Office of Air and Marine (OAM), are providing air support for Super Bowl XLVIII between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
GeneralBy Kevin Trahan on

United Airlines has had some very deserved bad publicity in the past month.

First, the company didn’t allow passengers to fly in leggings. Then it overbooked a flight, and when nobody volunteered to leave for less money than is legally required, the company chose a random doctor to leave. When he refused, they called the cops, who beat him and dragged him off the plane.

How does this happen, other than airlines’ love of capitalism when it helps them and authoritarianism when capitalism hurts them?

We now have a clue, thanks to two tweets.

1. United’s CEO, Oscar Munoz, was recently honored by a public relations outlet as “communicator of the year”

Yes, the CEO of the company that called the cops on a guy for refusing to help them deal with their mistake  is communicator of the year. This happened before United’s brazen behavior of the past month, but still, maybe take that award back.

The best part is that United communicated poorly even after if made a bad decision. Here’s its statement:

Not “sorry for calling the cops to come beat him”; instead, “sorry we overbooked.”

What communication!

2. Munoz used to work at Pepsi

Yes, the same Pepsi that had to withdraw an ad that showed the cops won’t beat black people if Kendall Jenner gives them a Pepsi.

As always, real life is better than fiction.

About Kevin Trahan

Kevin mostly covers college football and college basketball, with an emphasis on NCAA issues and other legal issues in sports. He is also an incoming law student. He's written for SB Nation, USA Today, VICE Sports, The Guardian and The Wall Street Journal, among others. He is a graduate of Northwestern University.

View all posts by Kevin Trahan