Black family purchases basketball, store manager promptly accuses them of theft

In yet another viral video, a white Nike store manager in Santa Monica, California accuses a black family of stealing a basketball which they bought for their toddler son, prompting the family to accuse the manager of racial profiling.

TaMiya Dickerson posted a video to Facebook that starts out showing her young son playing with his “first basketball” inside the store. Later, the video shows the family outside the store arguing with the manager as police try to mitigate the situation. The video also shows the receipt for the basketball. According to Dickerson, the manager followed them outside of the store and accused them of stealing, even though the family told her that they purchased it. The manager then reportedly flagged down police for help.

“Emotions got high as my family and I tried to explain we paid for the ball, it’s ours we own it,” Dickerson wrote in her Facebook post. “We were accosted on all sides having to stoop to her level.”

As CBS News points out, Dickerson demanded an apology from the store and a full refund. Nike has since issued a statement on the incident.

“We are taking the recent situation at our Santa Monica store very seriously, and we are currently investigating the facts,” a spokesperson for Nike told CBS. “We have reached out to the family to express our deepest apologies, and we will continue to work with our teams to deliver on our expectations for consumer experiences.”

Watch Dickerson’s video below:

Featured image via screen grab

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.