Collins said Molson Coors has “a lot of work to do to build the open, welcoming and inclusive culture this company values. We’ve already started some of that work by listening to employees over the last few days.”

He urged people to be patient while police investigate.

“It’s understandable in the absence of facts there are rumors out there,” he said. “But we have the same kinds of questions everyone else does.”

Two former brewery employees, Robert Powell and Lonnie Carl Jones, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for a story published Tuesday that a few months after the noose was found, several racist notes were slipped into Ferrill’s locker.

Asked if he could confirm whether anyone put racist notes in Ferrill’s locker, Collins again said the company isn’t aware of any complaints Ferrill may have filed with the EEOC, his managers or Molson Coors’ human resources about discrimination or harassment.

Jones told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that he worked at the brewery from 2013 until 2019. He said Ferrill mentioned to him that someone had placed an ace of spades playing card on his locker in 2016 or 2017.

“We knew what that meant,” Jones said. “It’s calling you black, like a spade.”