Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons has aired his side with regard to the Australian casino racism incident. Earlier this month, the Sixers point claimed that he and his friends were racially profiled at a Melbourne casino. According to Simmons, they were asked for an identification card while their other friend, who was white, was not. Per 7news.au.com, the 23-year-old shared his thoughts on the matter, noting that everyone has the right to speak up about the uncomfortable situations they faced.
“I think it’s just people being open and willing to talk about uncomfortable situations no matter what the situation is,” he said
“That’s just people being better and trying to be better for each other.
“I know growing up it’s just different, you may not have a voice or you may not think you have a voice but everybody does.
“If I’m able to do that and show kids and young kids and minorities and whoever it is to speak up when they feel like they need to, then they should definitely do that.”
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 casino, for their part, said that its security staff routinely check on anyone who appears younger than 25. Nevertheless, the incident has raised further conversations about race and discrimination in Australia, as well as all over the world.
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