John Henson took to Instagram on Monday to call out Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers in downtown Milwaukee for what he believed to be racial discrimination.
Here are his comments on the matter:
Went to @schwankekasten jewelry today in White-Fish Bay during regular business hours . They locked the door and told me to go away . After I rang the doorbell twice everyone went to the back. No answered the door or told me what was going on. This was followed by two police cars pulling up and parking across the street and watching me for 5 minutes ( I assumed they were called by the store ) . I was then approached by 2 officers and questioned about the dealer vehicle I was in which is apart of my endorsement deal with Kunes country Chevrolet and asked me what I wanted amongst other things that were just irrelevant to me being there just trying to shop at the store like a normal paying customer would do . I told them I was just trying to look at a watch. He then had to go in the back and tell them to come out it was safe but this is after they ran my plates and I overheard them talking about doing more of a background check on the car. The employees finally came out of the back and proceeded to conduct business like they previously were as we walked up . This was one of the the most degrading and racially prejudice things I’ve ever experienced in life and 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 and I urge anyone who ever is thinking of shopping here reads this and doesn’t bring any business to this discriminatory place.
Thomas Dixon, the owner of the jewelry store, eventually wound up speaking with wisn.com about that matter (h/t Bleacher Report):
Dixon said the store has had three armed robberies in 18 months, and one of the suspect vehicles involved is from the same dealership as Henson’s vehicle. Dixon said when employees saw the vehicle with dealer plates, they became suspicious based on the previous robberies.
Dixon said the misunderstanding is over the vehicle involved, and was not due to racial profiling.
The Whitefish Bay Police Department would go on to release a statement as well, per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today:
Press release from Whitefish Bay Police Department on John Henson incident at jewelry store: pic.twitter.com/c07thsADYf
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) October 20, 2015
The whole situation really is just bullshit based on the statement. The fact that this crap remains an issue, and a prominent one at that, in this day and age, is truly absurd.
Also absurd: John Henson, who just recently put pen to paper on a four-year, $44 million extension, apparently went into the store, per FOX Milwaukee’s A.J. Bayatpour, where he was once again greeted in unacceptable fashion.
This is a sensitive issue, one I won’t pretend to know everything about. It’s also not something to which I can relate. It is bizarre that John Henson would still go into the store after what was happening. Maybe he was trying to prove something, or perhaps the craziness of the situation didn’t really settle in just yet.
Whatever the case, it seems John Henson was treated more than unfairly, and this figures to be something we hear more about in the near and distant future.
