MGM to remove six-pointed star from security uniforms

CLEVELAND — Casino operator MGM Resorts International said Tuesday that an inquiry by a weekly Cleveland newspaper has prompted the company to begin removing a six-pointed star logo from the yellow shirts of security guards that a casino guest said “screams” the star Nazi Germany forced Jews to wear.

The Cleveland Jewish News pursued the story after a woman noticed the logo, which includes a circle and the MGM lion, at MGM Northfield Park outside Cleveland.

June Scharf, of Mayfield Heights, told the Jewish News she has family members who died in the Holocaust. She said she was “dumbfounded” when she saw the logo, which resembles a Jewish star, while attending a comedy show at the casino on July 13.

“Seeing that imagery takes me right back to that past which is so painful,” Scharf said.

Debra DeShong, a vice president for corporate communications for Nevada-based MGM Resorts, told the newspaper it’s committed to changing the logo at all properties where the shirts are worn, beginning with Northfield Park.

“We regret anyone was offended,” DeShong said in an email. “It was certainly not our intention. We are committed to ensuring that everyone feels welcome on our properties. Diversity and inclusion is at the core of our company’s values.”