Ben Simmons: Australian casino denies racial discrimination of NBA star
HUW EVANS PICTURE AGENCY
An Australian casino has denied an apparent assertion by NBA player Ben Simmons that he was denied entry to the venue due to racial discrimination.
The Philadelphia 76ers star posted a video online on Monday of himself and friends at Melbourne's Crown Casino.
In the now-deleted video, Simmons appears to say that he and his black friends were asked for identification whereas his white friend was not.
The casino said it "strenuously rejects" any claims of discrimination.
In a statement on Tuesday, Crown said it conducted identification checks to ensure customers were not aged below 18.
"The group subsequently provided identification and were permitted entry," it said.
The footage showed Simmons pointing to the only white member of his group, and saying: "I find it so crazy that the only guy who doesn't get checked to go into the casino is this guy.
"They didn't let me in, or him, or him, or this guy. Wow, we've got a long a way to go."
- NBA bans fan after Westbrook racial 'abuse'
- French football club investigates racial profiling claims
- Outrage at NBA star's 'racist' video
Simmons, who was born in Melbourne, also rejected a commentator's suggestion on Tuesday that he was denied entry because he had breached a dress code by wearing camouflage pants.
My friend who got let in also had camouflage pants on ..
91 people are talking about this
End of Twitter post by @BenSimmons25
Simmons was the top overall pick in the NBA draft in 2016.
He is believed to be Australia's highest-paid athlete after signing a US$170m (£140m) five-year contract extension with the 76ers last month.
The dual US-Australian citizen has also played national matches for Australia. He is yet to confirm whether he will represent Australia in the World Cup in China later this month.