Two black basketball players kicked off American Airlines flight for alleged blanket theft

American Airlines has apologised to two black professional basketball players for wrongly accusing them of stealing blankets.

 

On Christmas Eve, American Airlines kicked two black professional basketball players off a flight in Dallas after wrongly accusing them of stealing blankets.

 

Trahson Burrell and Marquis Teague, who play for the Memphis Hustle (the Memphis Grizzlies affiliate in the NBA G League), were booked in the Economy cabin.

 

As Mr Burrell and Mr Teague passed through the First Class cabin during boarding, they were handed blankets by two passengers seated there.

 

It was at this moment they were accused of theft by a black flight attendant who forced them off the plane.

 

An airline manager at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport apologised to the players and re-booked them in First Class to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for the Christmas Day basketball game against the Skyforce.

 

The Hustle won, 131-115.

 

American Airlines spokesman, Joshua Freed, said the airline was reviewing the incident.

 

“We take pride in bringing people together, and we know that on this flight we let some of our customers down,” he said.

 

In October 2017, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) warned African-Americans to exercise caution when traveling on American Airlines, citing a pattern of “disrespectful” and “discriminatory” behavior from the carrier.