Former NBA player Etan Thomas has been recognized as a celebrated poet and beloved activist who has never been in trouble during his professional playing days. Despite Thomas’ positive reputation, he claims to have had an encounter with a racist white woman recently and detailed the situation on social media.
Thomas wrote about the incident via his Facebook page last Friday (May 20), sharing what happened during the train ride. Thomas explained that he politely asked the woman if he could take the seat next to her and she said she was holding the seat for someone. However, the woman gave a white man that she apparently didn’t know the seat which prompted Thomas to take her photo and added it to his Facebook commentary.
From Etan Thomas’ Facebook page:
Ok so I’m getting on the train and there are no open seats and I ask this lady if I could sit next to her (very politely and I soften my voice as to not frighten her) and she says someone is sitting here. So I go to the next seat. Now, less than 2 mins later a man (who happens to be white) asks if he can sit there and she says why sure let me move my stuff. So I have to say something so I ask ummmmm did you just not want ME to sit next to you ? Were you scared ?
Not comfortable with a Black Man sitting next to you ? And she says lol smh don’t pull the race card stuff with me I dated a Black guy in college. So the guy (who was a nice guy) said listen I’ll get up and I said no need I’mma just take this pic and make a Facebook post about it. So then she says did you just take a pic of me ? Well I’m going to tell the conductor that you’re over here illegally taking pics of ppl without their consent. So the conductor came up and said hey Etan Thomas love what you’re doing in the community loved you with the Wizards big Cuse fan man the Knicks sure could use you …. And I said was there something you wanted to tell my man ? And she rolled her eyes smh some ppl I tell ya
Thomas might have been slightly in the wrong in posting the woman’s photo up but he’s never appeared to be the type to drum up an incident like this for fame or attention. Was he right in putting the woman on blast? Sound off in the comments.
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Photo: Facebook
