Jaylen Brown has event shut down during NBA All-Star Weekend
What was supposed to be a celebratory weekend for Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown turned sour when Beverly Hills police interrupted a trademark activation, costing Brown “hundreds of thousands of dollars” and distracting him from another moment in his career. Brown, who was in Los Angeles as a starter for the first time at the NBA All-Star Game, publicly disagreed with police’s assessment of the situation, which took place Saturday night before the All-Star Showcase.
Brown, who enjoys a sponsorship with Oakley, teamed up with Jim Jannard Jr. (the son of company founder Jim Jannard) to host a panel on culture and leadership at his Beverly Hills home. The five-time All-Star said police broke up the event even though there was no traffic blockage, no violence and no inconvenience to others at the residence.
“On Saturday, February 14, the Beverly Hills Police Department (BHPD) responded to an incident at a private residence in the Trousdale neighborhood of the city,” police said in a statement to the Boston Globe. “An event permit had been requested and denied by the City due to prior violations associated with events at the address. Despite the fact that the permit was denied, the organizers still chose to proceed with inviting hundreds of guests, knowing that this was not permitted. BHPD responded and terminated the unauthorized event.”
Brown said the police department’s account was “false” and that the event organizers never applied for a permit in the first place and therefore there was no permit to deny. He said he and Jannard did not need permits because the event was held at the latter’s private residence.
“The city had ordered us shut down,” Brown said after the All-Star Game. “It didn’t matter what the owner of the house said, no matter what. We tried to reason. It didn’t work. They didn’t try to work with us. They didn’t try to have a conversation. They went in and shut everything down. So the statement that they put out is completely false. I stand by that. My team worked with the utmost respect for the neighbors and everyone, and they were kind of harassed to some extent.”
In addition to his postgame comments, Brown took to social media to express his frustration with the Beverly Hills police and posted a video of his interaction with an officer. He also said he felt it was a targeted move by the city and that Jannard was considering legal action.
“That’s hundreds of thousands of dollars wasted on an event that was supposed to be positive,” Brown said. “I’m offended by Beverly Hills, by the statement they made – like we applied for something we didn’t get and did it anyway, like we were insubordinate. I know how to follow the rules. I’m smart enough to follow the guidelines. It seemed like someone didn’t want what we had to happen. Out of everyone who was doing something, I felt like I was the only one getting stopped.”
After Saturday’s situation, Brown scored 15 points for the USA Stripes team, which reached the championship game against the USA Stars.
