Casino to redesign uniforms after complaint they evoke Holocaust imagery

Ohio’s MGM Northfield Casino will redesign its employee uniforms after a customer said they reminded them of the Star of David that Jews were forced to wear during the Holocaust, according to CNN.

The casino security guard uniforms featured the image of a six-pointed yellow star, prompting customer June Scharf, who is Jewish and has relatives who were killed in the Holocaust, to call the Cleveland Jewish News after she could not reach the casino.

{mosads}”It was a combination that it was a star, and it was on a yellow backdrop,” Scharf said, according to the network. “There’s a million things you could put on a shirt design-wise, but I understand that not everyone is aware of that symbolism and its place in history.”

The Nazi government required Jews to wear the stars in Germany and several other European countries beginning in 1939.

MGM Resorts International spokeswoman Debra DeShong said a reporter from the paper then contacted the casino, prompting the decision to drop the design.

“We appreciate this being brought to our attention and will begin the process of changing the badges on the uniforms in question. We regret anyone was offended — it was certainly not our intention,” DeShong told CNN Monday.

She added that the uniform design is used in several MGM casinos, including in Las Vegas. While she said the company is working on a redesign, it does not yet have a concrete timeline.

“We are committed to ensuring that everyone feels welcome on our properties,” she said. “Diversity and inclusion are at the core of our company’s values.”

Scharf commended the company for its response, telling CNN “I think they are taking the issue seriously and responding accordingly.”