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Luxury Box Holders Accuse Barclays Center Of Racism, File $4 Million Lawsuit
By
Lauren Evans
Published Oct 31, 2013
Modified Oct 31, 2013
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Tien Mao/Gothamist
By
Lauren Evans
Published Oct 31, 2013
Modified Oct 31, 2013
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A group of luxury box holders is suing Barclays Center for $4 million, saying they've been treated terribly because they're black.
Staffers at Prospect Heights' Ludwig's Pharmacy purchased the box on October 10th, and said they've been subjected to racist treatment ever since, the Post reports. The unpleasantness they speak of is not the type of thing befitting people who shelled out $1 million for prime stadium real estate: The complaint alleges that Barclays staff have accused them of skipping bills. They also say staffers have been ignoring food and drink orders and searched their box without reason. On one occasion they were inexplicably charged $1,000 for a pizza.
The three owners said they're the only black box licensees in all of Barclays. Jay Z, who formerly owned part of the Nets and still owns a nominal stake in the arena, was skewered in the press for failing to speak out against alleged racial profiling at Barneys, another venture in which he has business relations. But Jay Z's stake in Barclays is much more than his .2 percent ownership—it's personal. "I am no stranger to being profiled and I truly empathize with anyone that has been put in that position," he wrote in a statement concerning the Barneys incident. Let's see what he has to say about this.
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Lauren Evans
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