A fan sitting courtside at Sunday's game between Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs has spoken out after he was told by security to remove a T-shirt that featured a message about ICE on it.
On the morning of January 7, Renee Nicole Good, 37, was fatally shot by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Federal officials said Good had tried to run over immigration agents with her car and that the officer had been acting in self defence. The city's mayor, however, claimed the agent who shot her had acted recklessly.
Good's death has provoked a huge public outcry, with local NBA side Minnesota Timberwolves holding a moment of silence for Good during their match against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.
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Three days later and the Timberwolves hit headlines again, after a fan sitting courtside for their clash against the Spurs was told by Target Center security to remove a T-shirt that had the message "ICE OUT" written on it.
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Tim Phillips, a Minneapolis civil rights and criminal defense attorney, wore the shirt in response to the increased presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the area, according to The Athletic.
He was then told by security workers that he could not wear the shirt.
However, it has since emerged that an employee had misinterpreted policy, with a statement from the arena apologising to Phillips.
“At this evening’s game, a security guard misinterpreted arena policy during an interaction with a guest, resulting in the guest being asked to remove a piece of apparel unnecessarily,” it read.
“We have reiterated all policies to our staff and apologize to the guest for any inconvenience caused.”
Phillips has also spoken out about his experience.
“I had offered to put my hoodie back on over it,” he told The Athletic. “But they said they had to take it. We declined to do that. Then we had a conversation and they realized that was their mistake. They didn’t need to take it since I had offered to remove the shirt.”
He continued: “I was disappointed that they felt that that was a political message. I think that people in Minnesota are in agreement that ICE is terrorizing communities. I don’t think that is a political or partisan issue.
“It’s very heartbreaking to see the impact on both immigrants who need to try to survive, but can’t go to work in some circumstances, or they feel that they can’t even leave their homes, some of whom feel that they can’t leave their homes even when they’re citizens."
"Then, in addition to immigrant communities, there are observers who are simply trying to monitor using their First Amendment rights, and those folks, too, are being terrorized," added Phillips.
Topics: NBA, Basketball
Jack Kenmare