WHEN WALID SHATER, an Arab-American Secret Service agent, was kicked off an American Airlines flight on December 25, 2001, he said he was the victim of racial profiling. The story made national headlines. Even the president got involved, telling reporters he’d be “madder than heck” if it turned out Shater was a victim of discrimination. But a year and a half later, it looks as if the Shater incident was a total nonevent, completely unworthy of the considerable coverage it received. Days after Shater was ejected from the Dallas-bound flight 363 leaving Baltimore-Washington International, he obtained legal representation and formally accused American Airlines of being “rude, unprofessional, and mean” when ordering him off the plane. Shater claimed he was singled out for his ethnicity. Lawyers for the airline said otherwise, arguing that Shater incorrectly filled out forms allowing him to board the plane with a firearm, and then grew angry when airline personnel questioned him about it.

Shater demanded the airline apologize for what he said was a new form of discrimination, while American Airlines continued to deny it was in the wrong. What happened next? Nothing. Shater didn’t sue, and American didn’t apologize. After taking a brief leave from his job, Shater was reinstated as a Secret Service agent, and he is once again protecting the president.