It’s hard to believe these things still go on in America in 2015.
John Henson, a star center for the NBA‘s Milwaukee Bucks, recounted his humiliating experience with racial discrimination on Monday.
Earlier that day — during regular, morning business hours, as he notes — Henson had gone to Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers, a high-end jewelry store in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, to look at a watch.
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Henson — who just signed a $45 million contract with the Bucks — pulled up to the store, walked up to the door, and found the store’s employees had remotely locked it before he could enter.
From there, when he knocked, the employees ran into a back room, evidently concerned about Henson entering the jewelry store.
The basketball star detailed the entire unfortunate incident in an Instagram post:
By Monday night, the store had responded, with its owner Thomas Dixon explaining Schwanke-Kasten’s side of the story, alleging they had been on the lookout for certain types of cars after having previously been robbed and enduring another robbery scare the previous week.
Apparently, Dixon claimed that Henson’s car resembled one which was involved in the previous robbery scare, worrying employees and making them lock the doors on the basketball player.
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Schwanke-Kasten also released a statement about the disturbing incident on Monday, with Dixon saying:
“We all agree that racial profiling is never acceptable and deeply regret how the circumstances unfolded Friday and today … [We hope to] apologize for what [Henson] experienced.”
Henson’s team, the Bucks, released their own statement on Monday, as well, calling the incident “very troubling” and saying:
“Nobody should be treated that way. We are trying to contact the store directly.”
Whatever the case may be, it’s unfortunate to see Henson, who attended the University of North Carolina for three years before becoming a professional basketball player in 2012, have to endure such a degrading experience.
[Image via John Henson/Instagram.]