Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers (Photo: Getty Images)
No more than a few weeks ago, Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons cashed in after signing a five-year, $170 million contract to stay with Philly. Although money no longer appears as a subject for Simmons to worry about, the manner in which he spends said money appeared somewhat more difficult for him than expected, as Simmons recently criticized a Melbourne casino he attended for its alleged racial profiling.
According to Simmons, after he entered the casino with his friends, some clerks proceeded to excessively check two African Americans and Simmons himself for their IDs, while simultaneously neglecting to apply the same excessive treatment toward their fourth friend, who was white. Simmons stated that the entire ordeal left him feeling “uncomfortable.”
In order to further illustrate his displeasure, Simmons used Instagram to attack the casino by releasing a video in which Simmons explained how everything played out and in which he mentioned his confusion as to why some of his friends required further inspection than others. Although Simmons quickly deleted the post, he proceeded to tweet out his reaction and continued to voice his resentment for the casino, while also stating his intent to continue calling out injustices such as the one which he believed himself to fall victim to.
The casino combatted Simmons’ attacks with its own statement shortly afterwards, in which it simply highlighted its policy to routinely check anyone’s ID who might appear younger than 25.
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!
A week of sports news in your in-box.
We find the sports news you need to know, so you don't have to.
IN MEMORIAM: SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019 TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW
Aside from arguing with suspected racially insensitive casinos, Simmons has spent his summer mainly working on his craft, with rumors even detailing him adding a long-awaited jump-shot to his basketball arsenal. Simmons even declined an invitation to the FIBA World Cup, thus clearly illustrating his intent to focus on his role with the 76ers, as most expect the team to challenge other squads for an NBA title this year.
To add insult to injury, Sean McVay announced on Monday that the Los Angeles Rams…
The Panthers named Andy Dalton as their new starting quarterback earlier this week, relieving 2023…
Once known as the worst clutch quarterback in the NFL, Atlanta Falcons QB Kirk Cousins…
On Tuesday, the Miami Dolphins placed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on injured reserve with a concussion.…
The Chicago Bears learned the hard way last week that not all wins are pretty.…
Quarterback Daniel Jones has had to field multiple questions about negative Giants fans last week.…