Savannah Moton v. Amer Sports Winter & Outdoor Co.

── Savannah Moton v. Amer Sports Winter & Outdoor Co. ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Date: May 29, 2026 Category: General NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 26a0248n.06 Case No. 25-3844 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED May 29, 2026 ) KELLY L. STEPHENS, Clerk SAVANNAH MOTON, ) Plaintiff-Appellant, ) ) ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED v. ) STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR ) THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF AMER SPORTS WINTER & OUTDOOR ) OHIO COMPANY, ) Defendant-Appellee. ) OPINION ) Before: WHITE, THAPAR, and MATHIS, Circuit Judges. THAPAR, Circuit Judge. Savannah Moton sued her former employer, alleging she was fired because of her race and in retaliation for an internal complaint she filed. But she didn’t provide sufficient evidence that her race or the complaint motivated her firing. So the district court granted summary judgment to her former employer. We affirm. I. In October 2021, Amer Sports (Amer) hired Savannah Moton as a recruiter for one of its subsidiary companies, Arc’teryx, which sells outdoor gear. As a recruiter, Moton found potential job candidates, guided them through interviews, and worked with hiring managers to help Amer reach a final decision on each applicant. In Moton’s words, starting this new job was “challenging” and “stressful.” R. 10-1, Pg. ID 88. She had a lot to learn because she hadn’t worked in the industry before. But despite these challenges, Moton thought she was performing well. No. 25-3844, Moton v. Amer Sports Winter & Outdoor Co. Unfortunately, others at Amer didn’t agree. In late February 2022, after she had spent a few months at the company, Moton’s manager, Joel Brideau, informed her that hiring managers in the brand-marketing team had some complaints about her work. They thought she was taking too long to find candidates for some roles, and they weren’t sure that the candidates she did identify were good fits for roles at Amer. They also didn’t think Moton was communicating clearly with them. So Brideau eventually reassigned Moton to work with other teams. On May 9, 2022, Brideau sent an email documenting Moton’s struggles to Mariah Marshall, a member of Amer’s human-resources team. He described several communication issues in detail, including Moton’s defensiveness, failure to stay in touch with candidates, and inability to provide clear answers to hiring managers. As Marshall put it, these “gaps in performance” meant that Moton’s job was “at risk.” R. 11-1, Pg. ID 284. In fact, the problems were so serious that Marshall thought they could lead to termination. Later that same day, Moton reached out to Marshall and indicated that she wanted to file a report about Brideau. And two days later, she alleged that Brideau had discriminated against her because she is black. Specifically, Moton claimed that Brideau had treated her differently from other recruiters and told her during one meeting that she “needed coaching on her soft skills.” R. 10-1, Pg. ID 234. She also mentioned a prior conversation in which Brideau had said he didn’t “really agree” with diversity initiatives in hiring. Id. at 101. According to Moton, Brideau added that Amer’s hirin