UCLA surgeon Dr. Christian Head’s lawsuit against UC regents gains support through petition

A racial discrimination lawsuit filed by a UCLA head and neck surgeon against the UC Board of Regents last month has garnered widespread attention in recent weeks.

Dr. Christian Head filed the complaint in April, alleging that the university failed to prevent discrimination, harassment, retaliation and infliction of intentional emotional distress.

Head hopes to put an end to what he feels is ongoing retribution and a hostile work environment at the university, said Peter Brown, a spokesman from the Foley Lyman Law Group, which is representing Head. The complaint calls for a jury trial.

Chancellor Gene Block said in a statement Tuesday that the university investigated the claims but was unable to substantiate them. He added that Head was given the information necessary to turn to internal procedures or directly to the legal system.

“Such a choice (to go through the legal system) does not mean that UCLA administrators failed to act on this person’s behalf or that UCLA failed to respond,” Block said in the statement.

In response to Block, Head said in a statement issued with his attorney that he went to an administrator in the chancellor’s office before he turned to the legal system.

Head said he decided to turn to the courts because he felt the university’s internal process was “untrustworthy,” according to the statement.

He said witnesses who had come forward to the university to confirm his allegations faced retaliation for their actions.

A YouTube video featuring Head that addresses the lawsuit has generated more than 100,000 views since its launch. The video claims that Head faced discrimination at work on a daily basis.

In one part of the video, Head describes a slideshow at a 2006 event sponsored by the UCLA Medical Center.

“The final slide was a photo … of a gorilla on all fours, with my head Photoshopped onto the gorilla, with a smile on my face, and a Caucasian man ““ completely naked ““ sodomizing me from behind, and my boss’s head Photoshopped on the person, smiling,” Head said in the video.

He said in the video that he confronted his boss, Dr. Gerald Berke, and reported the event to UCLA officials. Officials then ignored his request for appropriate action, he said.

According to the complaint, no apology has been issued to Head regarding the gorilla slide. The university has failed to locate the gorilla slide or even confirm that it exists, Brown said.

A petition on the website Change.org was also recently created in support of the surgeon. It calls on UCLA to “end the racial discrimination and deplorable mistreatment targeting Dr. Christian Head.”

The petition, which was started by NAACP member Willis Edwards, had gathered more than 4,800 signatures as of press time.

Cheryl Santiago, a 61-year-old realtor from Maryland, viewed the video and, previously unaware of the petition, said she intends to sign it. She said she was shocked by the video, which her cousin had emailed to her.

“Racism exists and it happens every day, but something needs to be done,” Santiago said. “This won’t make racism less painful, but hopefully this will cause people to pause and think about these things.”

Block said in the statement that the allegations in both the YouTube video and the online petition do not accurately depict the university, and that he is committed to maintaining a diverse and welcoming environment.

Head’s lawsuit also alleges Berke and Marilene Wang, doctors at the UCLA Medical Center, racially discriminated against Head. Head claims that Wang, who is his supervisor at the Department of Veteran Affairs, referred to him as an “affirmative-action hire” and restricted his career opportunities, according to the complaint. Brown said Head also received reduced pay and clinical hours.

Wang and Berke declined to comment.

Head and his attorney have not received messages from the university and do not know how it plans to proceed, Brown said.

Whether the matter goes to court depends on how the university chooses to respond, he said.

Steve Ritea, a university spokesman, declined to comment because it is an ongoing legal matter.