The Madison Club, the city’s oldest private club, has apologized after appearing to endorse an anti-trans comment on its Facebook page.
The club posted a photo Wednesday of its recently renovated pink washroom and then appeared to “like” a comment that was hostile to transgender people, according to screenshots of the post.
The original post with the comment has been taken down.
The comment said, “It’s beautiful. I hope your (sic) not letting men dressed as women in there,” followed by a pink heart.
In its apology, the Madison Club said Thursday it doesn’t tolerate hate crimes and called the club a welcoming, safe and inclusive space for everyone.
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“We sincerely apologize for recent events that have caused harm and discomfort within our community,” the message read. “Specifically, we recognize that a discriminatory comment was liked on our social media platform. We understand that our actions, as well as the actions of other individuals, have caused harm to our community. We want to express our sincere regret and apology for any harm that we may have caused.”
It continued: “We want to assure you that the club does not condone such behavior … We recognize that we have a responsibility to take action to address the situation and prevent it from happening in the future.”
Some members of Madison’s LGBTQ community and its allies said the apology didn’t go far enough.
“To be honest, I’m not entirely surprised. Disappointed, but not surprised is maybe the short and simple way to say that,” said Patrick Farabaugh, owner and publisher of Our Lives Magazine, a source of Wisconsin LGBTQ news.
Farabaugh said that while the Madison Club has hosted LGBTQ events, he’s never seen club officials attend LGBTQ events.
“So, it seems like they’re allies when it is profitable,” he said.
The club’s general manager, Mary Gaffney-Ward, said she learned about the anti-trans comment on Facebook on Thursday morning, adding that it appears to have been posted by a social media troll who is not a club member.
“Internet trolls do not represent the club or its members,” she said.
Gaffney-Ward said multiple people have had access to the club’s Facebook account and she and her board are reviewing access and intend to tighten it up.
She said as soon as she became aware of the situation, she consulted with members of the club’s board and issued an initial apology.
“I have since talked directly to the person who first shared this situation and offered my apology,” Gaffney-Ward said. “This person offered their help to connect us with the LGBTQ community so we can move forward from this terrible mistake.”
A story in Tuesday’s Wisconsin State Journal said the remodeling project was intended to show that the club is changing with the times. The club, established in 1909, has been at 5 E. Wilson St. since 1918 when the building was built.
The club, which has about 700 members, revamped its 40,000-square-foot third floor.
In the story, Gaffney-Ward, who became the first female general manager of the club 22 years ago, pointed out that women weren’t able to become members of the club until the 1970s.
Sara Neverman, 40, of Madison, commented on the post in support of the LGBTQ community.
Neverman, who works in the insurance industry and identifies not as LGBTQ but as an ally, said if it were a mistake, the club’s social media person could have “unliked” it and “should have also gone farther to say ‘We do not accept comments like this on our posts’ … Rather than post an apology and just delete the whole original post.”
Mary Gaffney-Ward, general manager for the Madison Club, enters the newly renovated Mendota Room. The Madison Club moved into its Wilson Street building in 1918.
Farabaugh, of Our Lives Magazine, said “white collar privilege” can often insulate people from understanding how they’re causing harm or marginalizing other groups. It can also prevent them from doing the work they should be doing in the community.
“So, assuming the best, I’m going to hope that maybe the person responsible for the Madison Club social media wasn’t aware of what that comment was implying,” he said. “But still it seemed a bit reckless and a very obvious need for more cultural competency work on behalf of their business.”
