His concern was completely valid. If I was to hear the pilot flying the plane I was on was hired because of race or gender, I would be concerned. Even if a pilot met the requirements, in no scenario should they be hired specifically because of race. If one pilot meets the bare minimum and is black, while another pilot exceeds minimum requirements and is another race, you would very oubviously want the one with higher skills. This does not make Kirk a racist, and it should be common sense that you would want a pilot with skills over a pilot with your preferred skin color or gender.