Indianapolis Colts Star Darius Leonard Says He Was The Target Of Racism At A Chipotle
Indianapolis Colts linebacker Darius Leonard claims he was wrongfully kicked out of a Chipotle restaurant in Florence, South Carolina simply because he’s Black.
According to TMZ, Leonard says he was eating with his family on Thursday (June 25) when another patron, who is white, complained that Leonard was “verbally abusing him.”
Leonard claims it was a lie, but says the restaurant manager walked over to his table and treated him as if he were a criminal. He subsequently kicked him out of the restaurant and reportedly threatened to call the cops.
The NFL All-Pro says he wasn’t given the benefit of the doubt and there was no evidence he was being unruly.
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"We’re talking about Black Lives Matter and for the guy to look at us and lie and laugh in our face as we walk out and the manger ... just come up here and just basically kick us out of Chipotle?!” he said. “And, we felt like he was very disrespectful and that’s the white privilege that we are talking about.”
He continued: "We are tired of this. I'm telling you what I go through as a Black man in America. Ya'll don't understand what I go through. Y'all see the police killing us. Y'all seeing all the injustices that we go through. I live it. Day in and day out. And, I'm f*****g tired of it. Yes, I'm upset. I'm tired of it."
TMZ reports that since reaching out, Brian Niccol, the chairman and CEO of Chipotle, has already launched an investigation into the incident. Niccol says, "We have a zero tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind and we have suspended our manager while we conduct a thorough investigation."
Watch Leonard describe the incident below:
