VIDEO: Missing Submarine Leader Boasts of Avoiding Experienced ‘White Guys’ with Military Backgrounds

‘I wanted our team to be younger, to be inspirational’

What happened: Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, the company responsible for the submarine that went missing in the North Atlantic on Sunday while exploring the Titanic wreckage, bragged about not hiring experienced submarine operators who were “50-year-old white guys” with military backgrounds.

• “I wanted our team to be younger, to be inspirational,” Rush said during a newly resurfaced interview with Teledyne Marine, adding that submarine expertise was particularly necessary for the job. “We can train someone to pilot the sub,” he said. “We use a [video-game] controller.”

Context: Stockton Rush is a 61-year-old white guy.

Full quote: “When I started the business one of the things you’ll find is there are other sub operators out there, but they typically have gentlemen who are ex-military submariners and you’ll see a whole bunch of 50-year-old white guys. I wanted our team to be younger, to be inspirational, and [an old white guy is] not going to inspire a 16-year-old to go pursue marine technology.”