Speaking at one of the ongoing protests in the nation’s capitol on Friday, Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal told a story of his own experience with police violence. Just two years ago, Beal said, a Washington police officer pulled Beal, his wife, and a friend over on the highway and threatened him with a headlock.
“I didn’t do anything,” Beal said, “but because I was a Black athlete driving a nice vehicle, that’s what he came up with.”
🚨🚨MUST SEE🚨🚨#Wizards Bradley Beal (@RealDealBeal23) shares one of his many encounters with the police. This is the sad reality of so many black people.
For more: https://t.co/C6Di30tdS1@wusa9 @WUSA9sports #JuneteenthDay pic.twitter.com/fZ765Kkvnv
— Darren M. Haynes (@DarrenMHaynes) June 19, 2020
The officer, Beal said, approached the car and said to Beal, “What if I f**k up your Monday and put you in a headlock and arrest you right now?”
Visibly emotional, it appears Beal has never told this story publicly before opting to tell it to those in attendance. Beal spoke up because he said he knows he’s not the only one who has dealt with these smaller forms of police misbehavior.
“It’s everywhere,” Beal said. “We just have to stop being ignorant to the fact that it exists.”
Washington has been the site of some of the most high-profile protests in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, including when the National Guard tear-gassed protestors outside the White House in early June.
