PHOENIX — AJ Musselman is an openly gay man, he's lived in his Phoenix apartment for almost a year, and gets deliveries sent to his door every month.
Last month, he signed for his package, but later noticed the delivery driver wrote a homophobic slur, rather than his name on the receipt.
“He must have something against LGBTQ individuals," he said.
Musselman says drivers usually "ask for your last name, and they type it in," He added, "It was very deliberate, I don’t see any way it could’ve been an accident.”
He noticed the entry days after he got the delivery, and reached out to FedEx customer service on Facebook as soon as he found it, but he feels the issue wasn't taken as seriously as it should have been.
“It was like you were reporting a damaged box," he said. "I was just harassed and called a derogatory term, and you’re sorry for the inconvenience? That’s unacceptable... I want them to take accountability for what happened here."
After several messages back and forth, Musselman says a manager from a FedEx location in Tempe showed up at his doorstep to tell him the driver was fired a week earlier but didn't say why.
“He was like I’m sorry, no one should ever talk like that," said Musselman.
But even the seemingly good intentioned gesture reminded Musselman that driver could come back.
"These people know where I live, they know my unit," he said, "Now, I’m fearful for retaliation.”
ABC15 reached out to officials at FedEx who responded by sending a statement:
“This type of behavior is not tolerated by FedEx Ground or representative of our values. We have taken this allegation very seriously and can confirm this service provider employee is no longer providing service for us.”
Musselman thinks the situation could have been handled differently. He's now in contact with the ACLU and has filed a report with Phoenix Police claiming harassment. Musselman says if he can, he'll press charges and could file suit against the company.
“ I would like to see them have sensitivity training," he said, "I want them to show that they do care about the LGBTQ community.”
