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SAN FRANCISCO - Cirque du Soleil, the Canadian circus company known for its stunning aerial acts, is being targeted by protesters here for firing an acrobat infected with the HIV virus. Matthew Cusick was trained and then dismissed by Cirque du Soleil. Cusick, 32, was in San Francisco for a demonstration outside the San Francisco Giants baseball stadium, where Cirque du Soleil is performing this month. The protest is the first against the company since the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund filed a federal employment discrimination complaint on Cusick's behalf. Michael Adams, Lambda Legal's director of education, said that while the group is not calling for a boycott against Cirque du Soleil, it hopes to pressure the circus into changing its policies on HIV-positive performers by appealing directly to ticket-holders. Cusick's complaint is still pending before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. But Cirque du Soleil has acknowledged that he was fired as a 'catcher' in the Russian High Bar act and a Chinese tall pole acrobat days before he was to join the circus in Las Vegas because of the risk his HIV status allegedly posed to other performers. He had trained with the group for four months. The company has denied that it discriminates against HIV-positive employees and says that Cusick is eligible for other jobs with Cirque du Soleil that require less direct physical contact...
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