As a Girl Scout mom, Kelly Conlon was chaperoning her daughter and her troop to a show at the Radio City Music Hall in New York. However, security escorted her out before she could even set her eyes on the famous Rockettes they went to see. Why? Facial recognition technology identified her as a threat.
1. Who Is Kelly Conlon?
Kelly Conlon is a mother to two young children and a wife. She was born and raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey. She is also an ambitious woman who is a senior associate with the legal firm Davis, Saperstein, and Salomon.
In addition, her colleagues respect her for her “communication skills, honesty, work ethic, and perseverance.” Little did she know that her job would cause her to get kicked out of a theater.
2. The Girl Scout Troop Trip
This whole saga started with a Girl Scout group trip. Kelly was in charge of chaperoning her daughter and her Girl Scout Troop on an outing to Radio City Music Hall.
They were going to see the Broadway show titled “Christmas Rockettes Show.” As a fan of Broadway herself, Kelly was beyond ecstatic to accompany the girls.
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3. Arriving at the Venue
Kelly was excited to see the Christmas show, but the night had other plans. Almost immediately after she arrived at the venue, security approached her, telling her they couldn’t allow her into the building.
She was shocked, to say the least, as she was not expecting that to happen. The security guards also told her that the kids could go in and watch the show.
4. Calling Kelly Out Over the Speakers
Before the security approached her, Kelly heard a voice describing her over the speakers. She was shocked as she heard that security needed to speak to “the woman with long dark hair and a gray scarf.”
Although the security took Kelly to the side politely to talk to her, she still felt quite embarrassed at the situation.
5. Kelly Sat Under the Rain for Hours
The guards told Kelly that she had to wait outside and she didn’t have a choice but to comply. She couldn’t leave all the kids at the theater. So, Kelly says outside in the pouring rain throughout the duration of the show.
Kelly explained, “I was just a mom taking my daughter to see a Christmas show. I did wait outside. It was mortifying.”
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6. Why Did They Ban Kelly From the Venue?
According to the guards, they identified Kelly as a threat using facial recognition software. Not for violence but because her firm “was on the attorney exclusion list” that the venue had.
“I was caught off-guard – I just complied with what they asked me to do, and I left my daughter inside the venue with her troops,” she said.
7. Facial Recognition Technology and the MSG Policy
Thanks to the facial recognition technology, the cameras recognized her immediately after she entered the building. Her firm is representing a client who is suing a restaurant under MSG Entertainment.
According to a new MSG rule, lawyers from firms that are in active lawsuits are barred against the company from coming to venues owned by the company. In this case, the theater.
8. Is Kelly Involved in the Lawsuit?
One of the saddest parts of Kelly’s story was that she wasn’t involved in the legal case the company cited. Therefore, she has no idea about this ongoing case or the rules.
Furthermore, Kelly does not practice law in New York. So, she was not a threat to the venue in any way possible. Sadly, this was of no help as they still didn’t allow her into the building.
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9. Facial Recognition Causes Controversy
Kelly’s story caused a lot of controversy once word got out. The MSG venues use facial recognition software to protect their affairs and also help with security.
However, some people are very skeptical of this type of technology. They believe it is a controversial tool as it has caused several wrong arrests across the country. Many people believe there should be some sort of regulation to this.
10. Kelly’s Law Firm Was Not Happy
The Girl Scout mom’s law firm also got wind of what happened to their employee. Her colleague and a partner at the firm, Sam Davis, expressed his displeasure with the incident.
He said, “Separating a mother from her daughter and Girl Scouts she was watching over – and to do it under the pretext of protecting any disclosure of litigation information – is absolutely absurd… The fact that they’re using facial recognition to do this is frightening.”
11. MSG Responds
MSG Entertainment’s legal team also responded to this incident. They maintained their stance, stating that they informed all the firms of their new policies.
They also said that it was the job of the firms to notify their employees to prevent such incidents.
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12. MSG Is Well Within Its Rights to Ban People
As long as they notify the right parties, MSG has the right to ban the people from their premises.
Sam Davis also speculates that “the liquor license that MSG got requires them to admit members of the public unless there are people who would be disruptive who constitute a threat.” For as long as the lawsuit is on, this rule applies to everyone under other firms.
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