Advertisement

Ben Simmons says he was denied entry into Australian casino, suggests racial profiling

Ben Simmons said he and his black friends were denied entry at an Australian casino when a white friend was not. (Getty)
Ben Simmons said he and his black friends were denied entry at an Australian casino when a white friend was not. (Getty)

Ben Simmons recently had trouble gaining entry into an Australian casino and suggested on an Instagram story that racial profiling was at play.

The Philadelphia 76ers guard and Melbourne native posted an Instagram story documenting his experience that was captured on Twitter early Monday.

Simmons: White friend treated differently

In it, Simmons, who is black, is with a group of friends, one of them white. He said that he and his black friends got “checked” by security, while his white friend did not.

“I find it so crazy that the only guy who doesn’t get checked to go into the casino is this guy,” Simmons said while pointing his phone at his unnamed white friend. “I get checked, Mike gets checked and Taj gets checked. Thank you Crown Casino.”

Simmons also said that he and a black friend were eventually denied entry.

“Wow,” Simmons said. “We’ve got a long way to go.”

Much like the United States, Australia has a history of struggling with racism, with one official recently calling race relations in the country the worst he’s seen in years.

More from Yahoo Sports: