John Henson signed a big extension worth $45 million over the next four years earlier this month with the Milwaukee Bucks so you would think he would be pretty recognizable around the Milwaukee area at this point. Apparently he is not though as Henson has accused a jewelry store and police officers of racially profiling him when all he wanted to do was look at a watch, according to ESPN.
Henson took to Instagram on Monday afternoon and posted a long winded caption to a picture of a Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers store where he claimed he had "one of the most degrading" incidents he has ever experienced. Henson is a black man who went to the store Monday afternoon and was turned away from entering the store which is located in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. Naturally Henson felt he was being turned away because of his race but the store claims that they were warned by the Whitefish Bay police to be on the lookout for certain type of vehicles and Henson's car resembled what they were looking out for.
Henson says he rang the doorbell twice but nobody would answer or tell him why he wasn't being let in and instead people just went to the back of the store. Henson also said that two police officers approached him and asked him why he wanted to go into the store and how he came into possession of the car he was driving. He was eventually allowed entry into the store when the cops realized he posed no threat but that didn't stop him from calling out the store.
"[I] wouldn't wish this on anyone. This store needs to be called out, and that's what I'm doing. You have no right to profile someone because of their race and nationality and this incident needs to be brought to light," wrote Henson on his Instagram post.
The police released a statement on the incident saying that the store was told to be on the lookout for a Red Chevrolet Tahoe, which Henson was driving, because one had parked outside the store a few days earlier and there were suspicions that the plates on it had been stolen. Also, the store was supposedly recently robbed and closed early on Friday after they had calls they deemed suspicious about their closing time.
Store owner Thomas Dixon said he "deeply regrets how the circumstances unfolded" and that "racial profiling is never acceptable." Dixon is hoping that he can sit down with Henson so that he can apologize for the situation that occurred. The Bucks are trying to contact the store directly as they said "nobody should be treated that way" in a statement.
Henson and the Bucks open up their regular season schedule on Wednesday, October 28th against the New York Knicks.