NBA star John Henson accused a Milwaukee jewelry store of racial profiling in an Instagram post on Monday, Oct. 19.
The Milwaukee Bucks center, 24, who is African-American, described what he called “one of the most degrading” instances of his life when he tried to enter the luxury store, Schwanke-Kasten.
“Went to @SchwankeKasten jewelry today in White-Fish Bay during regular business hours,” the NBA player captioned. “They locked the door and told me to go away. No one answered the door or told me what was going on. This was followed by two police cars pulling up and parking across the street and watching me for five minutes — I assumed they were called by the store. I was then approached by two officers and questioned about the dealer vehicle I was in which is a part of my endorsement deal with Chevrolet and asked me what I wanted… I told them I was just trying to look at a watch.”
Henson also described how the officers ran a background check on his license plates and said they planned to also do a background check on his vehicle.
“This was one of the most degrading and racially prejudiced things I’ve ever experienced in my life and wouldn’t wish this on anyone,” Henson continued. “This store needs to be called out and that’s what I’m doing. You have no right to profile someone because of their race and nationality and this incident needs to be brought to light.”
The store owner, Thomas Dixon, told Whitefish Bay Now that his employees refused Henson’s entrance in response to an alert they received from cops, stemming from confusion over Henson’s vehicle. Police had issued a two-page statement saying the store should call them if a red Chevrolet Tahoe, like the one Henson was in, approached the store, after the store had previously been robbed.
The Bucks issued a statement Monday, calling the incident “troubling,” adding, “Nobody should be treated that way.”
Dixon also said he wanted to apologize to Henson personally.
“We all agree that racial profiling is never acceptable and deeply regret how the circumstances unfolded Friday and today,” he said in the statement.
