Jaylen Brown challenges Beverly Hills’ reason for stopping brand event
jaylen-brown-challenges-beverly-hills-event-shutdown
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown on Sunday rejected Beverly Hills’ explanation for halting his Saturday night brand gathering, saying the city’s statement that organizers ignored a denied permit is “completely false.”
The gathering, designed to promote Brown’s performance line 741, was held at Oakley founder Jim Jannard’s residence in the Trousdale neighborhood. Beverly Hills police shut it down shortly after 7 p.m. PT on Feb. 14.
Earlier Sunday, the City of Beverly Hills told The Boston Globe that a permit request had been denied because of previous code violations at the address. According to the city, organizers “still chose to proceed with inviting hundreds of guests,” prompting police to close an “unpermitted event.”
Brown countered that claim after making his first start in the NBA All-Star Game at Intuit Dome. He said no permit was necessary because the property owner had opened his home to the event.
“We never applied for one,” Brown said. “I’m smart enough to follow the guidelines. Somebody didn’t want whatever we had going on to go on.”
The three-time All-Star added that hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in staging the activation were lost. He also posted a video of his exchange with an officer on social media, saying he felt “targeted.”
When asked if race played a role, Brown replied, “Everybody else that did something in activation seemed to have no issues.” He noted the event’s early evening start time and said it did not block traffic or disturb neighbors.
Brown said Jannard, whom he described as a family friend, is considering legal action against the city. “He’s done four or five events even that week, and it was never an issue,” Brown said.
Source: ESPN
