The Trump Effect is so prevalent that one hopes showing its frequency will give the perpetrators pause before joining the fold. One hopes that the aggrieved sue the store. If a monetary cost is applied to public prejudice of this type, employees with racist proclivities will think twice before asserting their poison.
This incident could have escalated. One can understand the black man’s frustration, first for being tailed out of the store by a manager over a $12 ball. And secondly by the involvement of cops.
That the manager would call police officers, who generically display a proclivity to harm innocent POCs and specifically black men, is unforgivable. Her error, her prejudice, her racism could have resulted in the death of an innocent black man.
The Trump Effect
Store manager ruins special moment by accusing black dad of stealing basketball he bought for baby son
A white store manager followed them outside and told Stallworth, who was on the basketball and track teams at California State University, Stanislaus, to hand over the ball.
Stallworth told the woman he had paid for the ball and continued walking, but the manager continued following the family for several blocks and accused them of theft.
The manager called over two nearby police officers, and the family argued with the woman and officers because they felt they’d been racially profiled.
The officers asked to see Stallworth’s receipt, and they let the family go after confirming they’d paid for the ball — which they took back to the store for a $12 refund. …
Stallworth was angry because police took the manager’s story at face value, even though she was mistaken, and he realized that expressing his frustration had put him in danger.
@Nike @NikeLA @Nikecourt @nikestore @nikefootball @nikegolf @nikelondon @nikebasketball @WendyWilliams #harrassment #racist #thisisLA pic.twitter.com/KiTd7o3k4z
— TaMiya Dickerson (@tamiyadickerson) July 6, 2019“I can’t say I was surprised, because being a black man in America we really don’t hold too much weight with the police,” he said. “The manager harassing me put me in a place where it was hard to calm down, and getting riled up in front of the police can end in death for people who look like me.”
The manager, whose LinkedIn profile showed she had worked seven years for Nike, was fired after the incident, and the company apologized to the family, which is considering legal action to challenge the company’s training procedures.
When does it end?
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