Man suing Nintendo & Pokémon Co. for $340k because they won't make him a Pokémon Professor - GoNintendo

6 Did you know that Pokémon Co. has an official program that will name you a Pokémon Professor? According to Pokémon Co., officially-recognized Pokémon Professors offer their time at Play! Pokémon events around the world, working as assistants, judges, and ambassadors for the Play! Pokémon program. As with any program, not everyone who signs up will make the cut, and that’s not sitting very well with one would-be professor. 34-year-old Kyle Owens took the Pokémon Professor exam and scored a perfect 100%, which you’d think would make him a shoe-in for the gig. Unfortunately for Owens there was also a background check, and it seems that’s where things fell apart. This background check apparently led to Owens being excluded from the program, and to say he’s not taking it in stride would be quite the understatement. Owens is now suing Pokémon Co. and Nintendo for a whopping $341k, saying he’s been denied the Pokémon Professor position due to an “old, low-level felony that was more than 10 years old.” This was a pending arrest warrant “for failing to appear in court on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct by engaging in fighting; possessing, repairing or selling an offensive weapon; and criminal mischief through damage to property.” Pokémon Co. did confirm that Owens’ application was “denied after reviewing the results” of his background check,” and Owens is pushing back by saying that his charges “do not show guilty findings.” Thus, Owens has filed a lawsuit in order to get compensation for what he feels is unfair treatment. It’s pretty unlikely Owens will come out on top in this lawsuit, but we’ll certainly keep track of where things go from here! Be nice... or else. Community Guidelines. Direct an issue or corrections to the author. Abuse/misuse of this feature carries penalties. Reason for warning User profile link Is there anything in the verbiage of the role that says that they are obligated to make the applicant a "Professor"? (Also did he pay to take this assessment?) I feel like if he didn't "lose" anything but time and they have no guarantees he has no case. Also do their rules explicitly state that something like his felony would exclude him? Since it sounds like it was weapon and/or violence related, surely that would be a safety concern even if it was about a decade ago. I've known *actual jobs* that would refuse to hire someone for less than that. This is wild. I didn’t even know this was an official designation they bestowed upon people. Expected a pure joke lawsuit post and left fascinated and amused I'm wondering the exact same things. And I'm sure a stipulation with receiving the honor is that you must pass a background check. Seems reasonable, considering the expectations and the events they would be attending. So, while I can be empathetic about an older (arguable) "mistake" that this person is now stuck with for possibly the rest of their life, it seems like the defendants are well within their rights to make the decision that was made. It's really an issue with our legal justice system, I would say. But this won't solve that. Not necessarily saying that this guy deserves to have that expunged; I don't know anything more than I read here. And I don't feel qualified to make that judgment. However, I feel, on principle, that there should be a way for many (most? all?) people to have a way to pivot and rebuild their lives with a second (or more) chance. But that should maybe involve injured parties, as well. Anyway, long legal discussion, sorry. The lawsuit seems silly and will presumably go nowhere. @joeshabadoo @kingbroly Yeah, I also had no idea that this was a thing. XD Put the fries in the bag, Professor Felon. Sounds like he’s better suited to the position of Viridian Gym Leader.