By Carron J. Phillips

Apologies do not resolve the issue.

That’s why Jaylen Brown shouldn’t just think about taking legal action against Beverly Hills and its police department; he should pursue justice to the fullest extent of the law.

The Boston Celtics star said he’s deciding what to do after police shut down a private event he was holding over All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles.

Jaylen Brown goes for a layup in an April 2018 Boston Celtics game against the Washington Wizards. (Keith Allison via Wikimedia Commons)

The City of Beverly Hills initially claimed that a permit for the event had been applied for but was denied because of previous violations associated with events at the address. That was followed by an apology in which the city had to own that it lied and admit that no permit applications had been submitted or denied and the residence had no previous violations.

“I’m not a legality type of pursuing guy, but you embarrassed my brand and my team. And I think that is unfair,” Brown recently told Andscape. “And for you to continue to tell untruths in your apology statement, I feel offended by it. I will circle back with my team this weekend, and we will make a decision.

“So I don’t think the apology is acceptable,” Brown continued. “I lost a lot of money [with our] partners, et cetera. People were making assumptions that we didn’t go through the proper protocols. So, all around, it’s just a bad taste in my mouth. I’m extremely offended. My team is offended. I’m not sure what the conclusion is going to be. All I know is it’s some bulls---.”

When law enforcement agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), have seemingly lost their minds, a basketball player may wind up being the one who holds the authorities accountable for their unchecked behavior. Given who Brown is and how Beverly Hills and its police department have been historically portrayed, Brown’s frustration is valid. Axel Foley isn’t walking through the door to save Beverly Hills from itself, giving Brown the opportunity to push forward.

“I was embarrassed. If it happened to me, I’m sure it happened to a bunch of people in the past,” he explained. “I look at it like that. There are probably a bunch of people that don’t scream, [or their scream] falls on deaf ears, which is unfortunate.”

The recent ICE violence is laid against the historical backdrop of law enforcement and racism that ignited Colin Kaepernick’s protest in 2016 and the mass demonstrations in 2020 after George Floyd’s murder. And now we’ve reached a moment in which Brown has become a reminder of just how powerful sports can be when athletes use their platforms for change. Ironically, this is taking place when it has felt like the “athlete activist” had gone extinct. We could be on the verge of a shift, even if Brown’s situation exemplifies it on a smaller scale.

CBS sportscaster James Brown recently explained why sports can’t ignore social issues, even if some sports fans don’t want to hear it. “That doesn’t mean that I am supposed to stick my head in the sand and ignore something that is problematic and has been for a while and continues,” he said. “And I certainly want to make certain that young people understand that there is a meaningful way, a proper way, that we can go about resolving this. And that is to confront it properly and together. It ought to be universal.”

Injustice, on any level, should never be tolerated. Jaylen Brown ought not be required to deal with the Beverly Hills Police Department’s incompetence, just as Brian Flores should not have to endure the NFL owners’ refusal to hire Black head coaches. His case against the league for its alleged racist hiring practices will be litigated in open court. Similarly, Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo should have been spared the disrespect of having their humanity and heritage denigrated by having someone with Tourette’s syndrome shouting the N-word at them while they were presenting at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards. At the very least, BAFTA should have edited the relevant portion before making the awards ceremony available on streaming platforms. It, too, apologized.

No matter the domain, accountability for misdeeds should be the norm, not the exception. Black people are often the targets — and that is neither a coincidence nor a surprise.

“Jaylen Brown used to be the “smart jock” who kept getting in his own way. His past missteps when addressing social issues appear to be behind him. He’s learned from his mistakes. That’s why he should be the one to show the folks in Beverly Hills the importance of accountability. But, to do that, he needs to take legal action, because social media posts and soundbites alone won’t hit the nerves necessary to enact actual change.”

Carron J. Phillips is an award-winning journalist who writes on race, culture, social issues, politics, and sports. He hails from Saginaw, Michigan, and is a graduate of Morehouse College and Syracuse University. Follow his personal Substack to keep up with more of his work.

Jaylen Brown Should Make an Example out of…