It was something perfectly ordinary: Lindsay Gottlieb, who coaches the University of California at Berkeley’s women’s basketball team, was about to fly with her 1-year-old son. 
 
 But her family then had what Gottlieb called an “uncomfortable and hurtful” interaction with a Southwest Airlines employee at a Denver International Airport ticket counter: On Monday, she said, the employee asked Gottlieb to “prove” she was the mother of her biracial son, even after seeing the toddler’s passport. 
 
 The employee then asked for her son’s birth certificate, citing “federal law” — and proceeded to ask the dismayed mother if she could prove she was the mother with a Facebook post, Gottlieb wrote in a tweet. 
 
 “We had a passport that verified our son’s age and identity, and both parents were present,” Gottlieb said in a statement to The Washington Post on Tuesday. “But still being pushed further to ‘prove’ that he was my son felt disrespectful and motivated by more than just concern for his well-being.” 
 
 [A Delta flight crew asked if there was a doctor on board. There was: The U.S. surgeon general.] 
 
 On Twitter, Gottlieb wrote that the employee claimed she requested further documentation of her and her son’s relationship because the boy had a different last name. 
 
 “My guess is because he has a different skin color,” wrote Gottlieb, who is white. 
 
 She added that a mother next to her told her she had never been asked for “proof” when traveling with her child, who also had a different last name but was of the same race. “Not shockingly, not mixed face fam,” Gottlieb added of the other mother. 
 
 Gottlieb and her fiance Patrick Martin welcomed 1-year-old Jordan Peter Martin last May. Jordan has flown frequently with his mother and the basketball team this season, and Gottlieb wrote on Twitter that she had flown with him approximately “50 times” before. 
 
 @SouthwestAir I’m appalled that after approx 50 times flying with my 1 year old son, ticket counter personnel told me I had to “prove” that he was my son, despite having his passport. She said because we have different last name. My guess is because he has a different skin color. — Lindsay Gottlieb (@CalCoachG) May 28, 2018 
 
 @SouthwestAir she 1st asked for proof with birth certificate. She then said it’s a “federal law” (not true) but asked me to prove I’m mother with Facebook post.What??Mother next to me said she’s never been asked for proof despite diff last name..not shockingly, not mixed face fam — Lindsay Gottlieb (@CalCoachG) May 28, 2018 
 
 @SouthwestAir it was demeaning and insensitive, not to mention inefficient. Would have missed flight if it was not delayed. I would advise better training for employees to avoid this happening to others — Lindsay Gottlieb (@CalCoachG) May 28, 2018 
 
 Gottlieb reported the incident to Southwest Airlines through Twitter and said officials quickly apologized. She said airline officials told her they would make the incident a “coaching” moment for their employees — a reference to Gottlieb’s coaching job. 
 
 Southwest said in a statement that it contacted Gottlieb to address her concerns and that the airline was sorry “if our interaction made this family uncomfortable.” 
 
 “That is never our intention,” officials said. 
 
 Officials added that Southwest’s policy is to verify that lap children are younger than 2 by reviewing a birth certificate or government-issued ID, and that employees aren’t required to match the last names of a child and guardian on domestic flights. 
 
 Gottlieb said the incident made her aware that the sort of questioning she experienced was probably common among nonwhite families. 
 
 “While it was upsetting and emotional, I realize that this was just one day of my life where I was uncomfortable and our family was made to feel ‘less than’ whereas others face similar situations on a daily basis,” she said. “I hope the coverage this has received can serve as a learning opportunity and that all families — regardless of how ‘traditional’ they may or may not look — are treated with dignity and respect.” 
 
 We are fine. It was wild, but, I fear, much more common for people that don’t look like me 😢 — Lindsay Gottlieb (@CalCoachG) May 29, 2018 
 
 Read more: 
 
 An American Airlines passenger was refused beer — so he screamed, fought and spit blood, FBI says 
 
 Self-driving Uber did not have emergency braking turned on when it hit pedestrian, NTSB says 
 
 Uber shutting down self-driving operations in Arizona 

 We are fine. It was wild, but, I fear, much more common for people that don’t look like me 

 @ SouthwestAir it was demeaning and insensitive, not to mention inefficient. Would have missed flight if it was not delayed. I would advise better training for employees to avoid this happening to others 

 Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez (AP Images) 
 
 The airlines are back at it again, with Southwest being accused of demanding that a white mother prove that her infant biracial son was indeed her own. 
 
 
 
 According to CBS San Francisco affiliate KPIX-TV, University of California women’s basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb said that she was approached at a Denver airport by a Southwest Airlines employee who asked to know her relationship to her son before she could get on a flight. 
 
 Gottlieb took to Twitter to express her shock at what happened to her, stating that this happened after approximately 50 times of flying with her now 1-year-old son. 
 
 Gottlieb gave birth to her son, Jordan Peter Martin, last year. Patrick Martin, Gottlieb’s fiance, is black. As KPIX notes, the tot has traveled often, even on Southwest, with his mom’s basketball team this past season. 
 
 
 
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 However, this trip didn’t go as smoothly. Gottlieb said that she presented her son’s passport, only to have the agent demand the child’s birth certificate. 
 
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 Gottlieb said in her tweets that the employee insisted that the demand was made because she and her son do not share a last name, but a mother next to her pointed out that even though her family uses a different last name, they’ve never been asked. 
 
 The basketball coach noted that that woman was not part of a mixed-race family. 
 
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 Nonetheless, Gottlieb stayed woke, acknowledging in her tweets that incidents like this happen far more often to “people that don’t look” like her. 
 
 “I do feel like as a white female, with a position of privilege, and a platform where someone is going to listen, it is my responsibility to say, ‘Hey, this happened, this isn’t OK,’” Gottlieb explained to the news station. “And maybe somewhere down the line, that helps my son, who is biracial and will be for his entire life.” 
 
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 Of course, Southwest is now apologizing (for the umpteenth time?) and saying that it is investigating: 
 
 “We’re looking into this specific interaction, and we have engaged with the customer directly to address her concerns,” a statement from the airline read. “Our employees are well regarded for their hospitality and we always strive for the best experience for anyone who entrusts us with their travel.” 

 @ SouthwestAir she 1st asked for proof with birth certificate. She then said it’s a “federal law” (not true) but asked me to prove I’m mother with Facebook post.What??Mother next to me said she’s never been asked for proof despite diff last name..not shockingly, not mixed face fam
– Lindsay Gottlieb, coach of the University of California at Berkeley women’s basketball team, has flown with her son "approx 50 times" with no incident. So she was "appalled," as she wrote in a series of tweets to Southwest Airlines Monday, that during her most recent trip with the one-year-old, an airline employee in Denver insisted she "prove" she was the boy's mother. "She said because we have different last name. My guess is because he has a different skin color," Gottlieb wrote. She is white; her fiance, Patrick Martin, is black; and their son is biracial, the Root reports. Gottlieb tells the Washington Post that both she and Martin were present at the time and that they had their son Jordan Peter Martin's passport. But the Southwest employee claimed that "federal law" required her to view the boy's birth certificate Gottlieb says that claim is not true; Southwest's own website says birth certificates are only required to verify the age of infants flying as lap children without their own ticket. The agent then, Gottlieb tweeted, "asked me to prove I’m mother with Facebook post. What??" She adds that a woman who witnessed the incident told her she had never been asked to prove she was her child's mother even though they have different last names; "shockingly," Gottlieb tweeted, that woman is not part of a mixed-race family. In a later tweet, she added that she fears this sort of thing is "much more common for people that don’t look like me." She tells KPIX that as a white person, she has "a position of privilege, and a platform where someone is going to listen," so it's her responsibility to call out behavior like this. Southwest has apologized and says it is investigating.