By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
According to the Associated Press, Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons believes he was racially profiled at a Melbourne, Australia casino recently. He also believes, besides himself, his friends were also ‘singled’ out.
He said through an Instagram post that two black friends, along with himself, were asked for identification. However, another individual in their group, who was white, was not asked for their ID.
He deleted the post on Tuesday. The Casino also issued a statement saying they check for IDs for anyone younger than 25.
Simmons is just 23. Yet, despite being an NBA player, the security staff reportedly did not recognize him on Monday night. He signed a five-year, $170 million extension with the 76ers.
“As you know an incident happened last night at Crown and my friends and I felt personally singled out, no one likes to feel like this,” the Melbourne-born Simmons said in a tweet. “I am very passionate about equality and I will always speak up even if it means having uncomfortable conversations.”
Despite what Simmons said, the casino released their own statement.
“[Our] internal security policy requires our security officers to check identification of those persons they believe to be under the age of 25, this is an enhanced safeguard to ensure that no one under the age of 18 is permitted entry to the casino floor as required by law,” the casino said. “The group subsequently provided identification and were permitted entry … (we) strenuously reject reports that it discriminated against a group of visitors last night.”
Simmons is reportedly staying at a hotel, which is connected to the casino, according to Australian media.
