Harlem Globetrotters star Maxwell Pearce is speaking out after the crew of a TV newscast threw a banana at him during a live appearance in January.
Maxwell “Hops” Pearce posted a video discussing his appearance on Good Day Alabama on Fox 6 in Birmingham. During the broadcast, two anchors, Clare Huddleston and Mickey Fergusson, appeared on screen with the player and began horsing around with a basketball. Fergusson made like he was going to pass the ball to Pearce but instead tossed him a tangerine.
But, after that, someone off-screen began tossing more fruit at Pearce, one of which was a banana.
In his video, Pearce noted that the fruit tossing was an insult to the Harlem Globetrotters’ legacy. He also pointed out that bananas have a long, racist association with blacks.
“Throwing fruit at me diminishes the Naismith Hall of Fame legacy of the Harlem Globetrotters to that of a circus,” Pearce said in the video he posted on Saturday.
“But throwing a banana at a black man and passing it off as entertainment displays an unacceptable lack of awareness,” Peace continued. “And quite frankly, I’m having a very difficult time understanding how someone could work in the media field and not know that this is offensive.”
“This carries deep racial undertones that date back to the early 1900s when black people were held on display in human zoos,” he said.
The player said he considered demanding an apology from the station but pulled back for fear of making a ruckus. However, he now thinks that people should know how he feels, especially in the wake of the Black Lives Matter moment in America today.
Pearce later told CNN that he has received an apology from the station, but he feels it is insincere.
Pearce did say he was not entirely sure that the TV crew understood the racial connotation of a banana being thrown at him. But he feels it was “unacceptable” nonetheless and added that, “The lack of cultural awareness is extremely shocking, and it’s very telling about the state of this country right now.”
On Monday, WBRC News Director Shannon Isbell issued a public apology to Pearce.
“WBRC Fox6 would like to take this opportunity to again extend a heartfelt and sincere apology to Globetrotter Max Pearce,” the station’s statement read as reported by AL.com. “An on-air segment promoting a Globetrotters event with Mr. Pearce months ago was intended to be lighthearted. However, it became something deeply hurtful to our guest as the result of our lack of understanding.”
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