Former NBA star Dominique Wilkins had an unfortunate situation play out in Atlanta recently as he attempted to dine at Le Bilboquet restaurant. According to a Twitter post from the Hall of Fame star, the restaurant acted in a racist way towards him as they wouldn't let him in due to a supposed violation of their dress code.
"In my many years in the world, I've eaten at some of the greatest restaurants in the world, but never have I felt prejudice or been turned away because of the color of my skin, until today in #atlanta," Wilkins wrote.
After Wilkins' accusations went viral, Le Bilboquet responded to the former star, claiming that they are strict with their business casual dress code and that at the time, he didn't fit their standards.
"We, at Le Bilboquet, do our best to accommodate all of our guests," the restaurant said in a statement. "However, we have received consistent complaints from our patrons regarding other guest's wardrobe choices. As a result, to protect our restaurant's culture, we installed a minimum standard in our 'business casual' attire dress code which includes jeans and sneakers but prohibits baseball caps and athletic clothing including sweat pants and tops."
According to TMZ, Wilkins called cap on the restaurant's assertions, noting that he was wearing designer pants and a shirt. He even claims the restaurant employees gave him an up and down look, and then refused to serve him. Based on replies to Wilkins' initial tweet, it seems like the restaurant has a reputation of doing this to patrons, and with Wilkins calling them out so publically, it's not looking good for the old PR department.
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[Via]