Ben Simmons Repeats Racism Allegations as Australian Casino Denies All Wrongdoing
By Aaron Halford
Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons claimed that he and a group of friends were racially profiled at the Crown Casino in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia on Monday night.
While the casino and its representatives have denied any sort of discrimination or wrongdoing, Simmons isn't wavering from what he originally said.''
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. I am very passionate about equality and I will always speak up even if it means having uncomfortable conversations.
— Ben Simmons (@BenSimmons25) August 6, 2019
In a video Simmons filmed during the incident, he depicts a white male who received far less scrutiny from security and a less thorough search by comparison when attempting to enter the complex.
"They didn’t let me in, or him or this guy. Wow, we got a long way to go," Simmons said at the time.
Deleted Instagram story of Ben Simmons getting denied entry at crown casino @BleacherReport @espn pic.twitter.com/RO26l1V0zU
— Nick (@Nick_Battersby4) August 5, 2019
While racial tensions are front and center in the national discussion here in the United States -- especially given the weekend's mass shooting tragedies in Texas and Ohio -- its more than clear that such issues are far from simply an American problem.
Ben Simmons' Racist Allegations Are Lies, Casino Claims https://t.co/aP62sAZ2vs
— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) August 6, 2019
Props to Ben Simmons for standing up for what he believes in. It's not easy to confront these issues at any age, let alone at 23. Here's to hoping that the young NBA star can now get back to making headlines for the best possible reasons.