Former NBA star Al Harrington says LAPD targets him for being Black
[griojw id=”rlwL63dc” playerid=””]
Ex-NBA player turned cannabis tycoon, Al Harrington, believes the LAPD’s got it out for him.
—Beyond The Smoke: Cannabis for health, not a high—
Harrington told TMZ that he’s been the target of police and has been pulled over several times for “driving while Black.”
Each occurrence, Harrington claims, he was never ticketed for, yet he says he continues to be hassled for no apparent reason other than being Black.
Harrington was caught by the paparazzi leaving a Viola Lifestyle event, the marijuana brand he created and named after his grandma.
The LAPD reportedly told the outlet they are taking Harrington’s claims “very seriously” and is looking into the matter.
A Black man with a fancy car and a lot of money seems to always turn heads when it should be normalized by now.
Harrington wants the smoke
The former NBA basketball star wants smoke, but not from the LAPD.
Harrington spent 16 seasons playing for the league and never once touched a gram of marijuana, and yet, once retirement was on the horizon, he began to think of the economic opportunities around marijuana.
His financial advisors thought of it as a risky investment and entirely too taboo for his otherwise stellar reputation.
It wasn’t until after his grandmother had a life-changing experience with medical marijuana did Harrington decide to push past the doubt and pursue a path where cannabis was worth selling.
—Meet The Black Woman Cannabis Owner Building A ‘High’ End Weed Lounge—
Harrington was also determined as an African-American entrepreneur to lay claim to some of the $10.4 billion dollar legal marijuana industry in the U.S. As a result, Viola was born; a line of cannabis products, named after his grandmother.
“Cannabis chose me and chose me to be one of its soldiers; one of its crusaders,” says Harrington in an interview at theGrio‘s New York City headquarters earlier this year.
“If you can find a way to get into this industry, I promise it’ll be very lucrative.”
You Might Like
