WASHINGTON — During Saturday night’s heavy rainstorms across the D.C. region, Shruti Rajkumar was out with friends. Late in the evening, they made the decision to head to a lesbian bar in Adams Morgan.
When they arrived at A League of Her Own, she said she was met with discrimination. Rajkumar said she was told she couldn’t come inside with her wheelchair.
“I had never experienced that where, I was completely denied entrance, and I do think that has to do with the fact that I was using a wheelchair rather than just my crutches," Rajkumar said.
She said they were able to get in, and they eventually made their way to the third-floor dancing area.
“Then the security guard who had told us originally we couldn’t come in told us we have to bring the wheelchair down to the second floor which has the accessibility entrance,” Rajkumar said. “They were like, 'No, you have to go back down.'”
Rajkumar shared her experience on Twitter, leading to thousands of retweets and tens of thousands of likes.
Since the July 2 incident, A League of Her Own apologized for what happened and expressed commitments to revising policies, adding detailed accessibility information, and open communication with customers.
During the group's time at the bar, A League of Her Own General Manager Barbara Lopez said there was no issue of Rajkumar getting inside and no complaints to security.
“As far as I’m aware that was not an issue. She was already inside the building when security saw the wheelchair,” Lopez said. “You’re allowed to go wherever you would like to go. And the next step of communication was when they were on the dance floor because the chair was blocking, again because when the wheelchair was blocking the hallway, that’s when security approached and stated 'Hey, you guys can’t have a wheelchair here but if you need to, we have an accessible floor.' And then they’re like 'OK, we will go to the accessible floor.'”
The Americans with Disability Act states businesses must allow people to use these wheelchair devices in all areas where customers are allowed to go. In this situation, Rajkumar said she believes that didn't happen.
“It doesn’t feel legal and I feel there are a lot of legal aspects to this and a lot of violations. I am going to be in the process of figuring out how do I report this. And I did have a conversation with their diversity and inclusion manager today, so you know it’s being addressed, we’re being heard, but it still happened,” Rajkumar said.
“I am definitely listening and trying to learn this is honestly not something I expected to face but I am glad it is happening so we can make some changes for the better,” John Marsh, the Manager of Diversity and Inclusion at Pitchers said.
Marsh and Lopez said they are also retraining staff based on clarifications of protocols and are in the process of making accommodations.
Rajkumar said she hopes there are changes locally, as well as changes to the ADA to encourage accessibility for everyone.
"I hope that with bars for example I wish they took disabled people into consideration. Accessibility is a big word and it doesn't just mean putting in a ramp, and it doesn't mean just putting an elevator,” Rajkumar said.