A Crown Heights firefighter lost his job this week because the anti-affirmative action T-shirts he wore to work created "a hostile work environment in the firehouse." Come now, sir, this isn't the NYPD!

The Daily News reports that white firefighter 44-year-old Thomas Buttaro of Ladder Co. 123 was fired for wearing t-shirts emblazoned with phrases like "MADD — Minorities Against Dumbing Down" and insignia from anti-affirmative action group "Merit Matters." Buttaro reportedly wore the shirts to and from the firehouse starting in 2012, but also wore some while on the job, and unsurprisingly, they caused a little friction with his colleagues. "He was creating a hostile work environment in the firehouse,” a source told the tabloid. “It was so disruptive, it was causing problems.”

Buttaro has argued [pdf] that the FDNY cannot prohibit him from wearing his t-shirts of choice to and from the firehouse, though an administrative law judge ruled last year that "public employee may be disciplined for off-duty misconduct when there is a sufficient nexus between the conduct and the employee’s job duties." Court papers note that on more than 20 occasions, Buttaro "refused orders to remove the t-shirts," and even asked a civilian visiting the firehouse to don a shirt in front of a firefighter who deemed it offensive.

The judge ruled that Buttaro displayed a "persistent and long-term pattern of harassment” and was guilty of “repeated acts of insubordination," and recommended he be fired. He got canned on Wednesday, and his termination was approved by FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro.

The FDNY has had struggled with racism over the years, and in 2009, a federal judge ruled that the department's entry exams intentionally discriminated against minorities. The city has agreed to pay a $100 million settlement to minorities on the force. The group "Merit Matters," the insignia of which Buttaro reportedly wore to work, is an anti-affirmative action group that arose after the judge's decision.

The FDNY has not yet respond to request for comment.