Ben Simmons shared a video on social media on Monday that he says was recorded after he was denied entry to a casino in Australia, but the establishment is strongly refuting the claims made by the Philadelphia 76ers star.
In a since-deleted Instagram video, Simmons says he and two friends he was with were “checked” at the door and denied entry into the Crown Casino in Melbourne. Simmons claimed the only member of his party who was not questioned was his white friend.
Deleted Instagram story of Ben Simmons getting denied entry at crown casino @BleacherReport @espn pic.twitter.com/RO26l1V0zU
— Nick (@Nick_Battersby4) August 5, 2019
“Wow, we got a long way to go,” Simmons said, which was a clear reference to racism.
On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the Crown Casino told TMZ that Simmons’ video and remarks did not reflect the real story. She said security staffers at the casino were simply following protocol for ID’ing people who appear to be under the age of 25 and that Simmons and his friends were not denied entry.
“Crown strenuously rejects reports that it discriminated against a group of visitors last night,” the spokeswoman said. “Crown’s 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 group subsequently provided identification and were permitted entry. Crown is an inclusive workplace.”
For what it’s worth, Simmons also issued a statement about the incident on Twitter early Tuesday morning.
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
The situation sounds similar to one we saw two years ago when some NFL players were turned away from a nightclub in London. Without knowing the exact dialogue that was exchanged between Simmons’ group and the security workers, it’s hard to understand what really took place.
