You can now add basketball to the list of fun, everyday activities that suddenly become “illegal” in the eyes of a “Karen” when Black people do them.
A group of men was playing a casual game of basketball on a court in an apartment complex where one of them lived when a white woman approached and started harassing them, a viral video shows.
The woman, who happened to be barefoot, also seemed to live at the complex and had likely seen other games on the court before, but seeing Black friends enjoy themselves was apparently too much, and she ordered them to move on.
“My BF called me to let me know what was going on, and I drove to his location immediately,” Keyylashae2 wrote in the caption to her video that is now going viral on TikTok. “[The woman] was told several times to stop harassing them, but continued to do so. My BF and his friends were very respectful and didn’t feed into her foolishness.”
At one point in the video, the harassing woman told Keyylashae2 the court was “not free 99,” and at another point, she could be seen lurking outside the gate, staring down the players. Eventually, she called the police, but the outcome wasn’t what she bargained for.
Three officers responded to her complaint, and the lead officer was also Black. When the woman claimed the players were trespassing on private property, the officer quickly shut her down and turned the tables, telling her to stop “harassing these people.”
“Oh, I’m harassing?” she asked the officer incredulously before calling him “babe” and walking away while he was in mid-sentence. She led him to the sign posted at the entrance to the court, which stated that anyone living in the complex is permitted to play and invite guests to join them, according to Keyylashae2, who captured the entire exchange.
Within hours of posting on TikTok, the comment section exploded. “Playing basketball??? in a basketball court??? The horror!” exclaimed one.
“The microaggression… I would have said, What does ‘free 99’ mean?!” wrote an outraged person. “And it’s not Free 99 for that bail she has to post,” replied another. “Ugh, put some shoes on… gross. Karen needs to stop bothering people.”
“So why aren’t they ever arrested for false reports… that’s what kills me,” stated another.
Abusing 911 and weaponizing the police against the Black community too often leads to false arrests and frightening or humiliating situations when the caller is simply being racist. However, this time around, the encounter had a more favorable outcome. “I didn’t get it on video, but the Black cop started playing ball with them too! Happy ending,” wrote Keyylashae2.
At the end of the video, it appeared that the woman was being handcuffed by one of the officers, but an arrest has not been confirmed. But the question, asked by one commenter, remains: “I wonder if it would have been the same ending if the Black cop wasn’t there? Just wondering.”
But it seems everyone can agree that “harassing people for playing basketball at a basketball court is crazy.”
