A black couple says their family was racially profiled after being accused of stealing a $12 basketball at the Nike store in Santa Monica -- a ball they had paid for.
On July 5, Joel Stallworth and TaMiya Dickerson say they were leaving the Nike store when a white manager followed them out and accused them of stealing the basketball -- which they bought for their 18-month-old son.
The white manager follows the family down the Third Street Promenade, eventually flagging down several police officers.
The video below opens with a shot of the receipt, shows their son walking around with a Nike Swoosh Mini basketball and then shifts to outside of the store with TaMiya telling a group of police officers and the manager, "we just told you we bought this right here at the Nike store in Santa Monica right now. We just told you we bought it. What do you need the receipt for?"
KeJuan Wilkins, VP of North America Communications, released a statement on behalf of Nike:"We are taking the recent situation at our Santa Monica store very seriously, and we are currently investigating the facts. We have reached out to the family to express our deepest apologies, and we will continue to work with our teams to ensure we deliver on our expectations for consumer experiences."
The couple has hired a lawyer.
The couple showed the receipt to the police officers and were given the ball back. They took it back to the store for a refund.
There have been no comments from Nike store or the Santa Monica Police.