After falsely accusing two NBA G-league basketball players of stealing blankets, American Airlines has issued an apology. On there way to a game in Iowa, Trahson Burrell and Marquis Teague were kicked off the plane in Dallas when accusations from a flight attendant surfaced. According to Undefeated, as the two men walked through the first- class cabin, they were handed the blankets by two passengers seated there. A flight attendant immediately accused them of theft. An argument ensued when the attendant said that the flight would not depart, forcing them to leave the plane.
American Airline spokesman, Joshua Freed said, “An airline manager apologized to the players and they later flew first class to Sioux Falls for the Christmas Day game against the Skyforce.” Allegedly, AA had no idea of the incident until a tweet from Coach Darnell Lazare went viral.
“It’s 2017 and a flight attendant sees two young black athletes with blankets from first class. His first comments is ‘did you steal them.’ How about you teach people the facts first before jumping to conclusions. #beingblackinamerica.” Lazare tweeted.
Immediately getting the attention of American Airlines, a request was made for details and locations about the incident as well as a public apology.
“We apologize for what occurred on this flight. We take pride in bringing people together, and we know that on this flight we let some of our customers down. Our team at American, along with Envoy Air, is reviewing what happened and will be reaching out to the two players and assistant coach Darnell Lazare.”
Early last month, AA said it would be taking steps to begin implicit-bias training for all of the company’s employees after the NAACP issued a travel advisory which included four allegations of racial discrimination. Looks like they need more than just training.
