Jaylen Brown rejects Beverly Hills’ apology after event shutdown
Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown is not satisfied with an apology he received from the city of Beverly Hills on Thursday, days after police shut down an event he was hosting in the city’s Trousdale Estates neighborhood.
The apology was not for shutting down the event. Instead, it was for including what the city called “inaccurate information” in its initial statement about the event.
Brown told ESPN’s Andscape he is considering legal action against the city after it “embarrassed my brand and my team” and then continued “to tell untruths in [its] apology statement.”
The promotional event for Brown’s performance brand, 741, was held last weekend at the home of Oakley founder Jim Jannard on the eve of the NBA All-Star Game at Intuit Dome. It was scheduled to include a panel discussion featuring National Basketball Players Assn. president Andre Iguodala followed by an after-party with around 200 invited guests.
In an X post after his event was stopped, Brown wrote, “300k down the drain.” On Thursday, in response to the city’s statement, Brown wrote on X: “You targeted me and my @741Performance event based on biased information then you give a half a— apology after the damage is already done.”
The Times reached out to the city of Beverly Hills on Friday for a response to Brown’s comments concerning the incident, including his mention of possible legal action. A representative referred The Times to the statement released the previous day.
The city’s first statement, issued Sunday, said that “an event permit had been applied for and denied by the City due to previous violations associated with events at the address” and “organizers still chose to proceed with inviting hundreds of guests knowing that it was not allowed to occur.”
On Thursday, the city issued a second release saying that upon further internal review it had determined that “no permit application was submitted nor denied for the event and the residence does not have any prior related violations on record.”
The release included a statement from city manager Nancy Hunt-Coffey, who apologized for the inaccurate information but asserted that the city still had reason to shut down the event.
“The City’s previous statement about the weekend event at the Trousdale home was inaccurate, and on behalf of the City, I would like to apologize to Jaylen Brown and the Jannard family,” Hunt-Coffey said.
“The City has a responsibility to its residents and neighborhoods to ensure adherence to established regulations for events held at private residences. These are designed to support the safety and welfare of neighbors and attendees. City staff observed circumstances that are believed to be City code violations and for that reason alone, the event was ended.”
Brown was far from satisfied with the apology.
“The city has now stated the event was shut down because officials believed codes were being violated,” he said in a statement released by Jalen Brown Enterprises Inc. “A private gathering cannot lawfully be terminated based on assumption alone, particularly when no official ever entered the residence to observe conditions or verify any alleged violation.
“This was a private, invitation-only gathering at a private home among friends and partners, not a public or commercial event requiring a permit. … No proof of any alleged violation was ever produced to the homeowner, our team, or legal counsel. Without observation, documentation or confirmed violations, enforcement action based on belief alone raises serious due-process concerns.
“Jalen Brown Enterprises Inc. supports lawful compliance and cooperative engagement with municipalities wherever we operate. However, this private residential gathering was interrupted without substantiated cause, resulting in significant financial and reputational harm.”
“We remain open to a constructive resolution with the city of Beverly Hills.”
Brown had more to say on the matter after the Celtics’ 121-110 win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night in San Francisco.
“This is All-Star Weekend at 7 p.m. I just wanted to enjoy myself. And I feel like that got taken away, and I got embarrassed to some degree,” said Brown, who was named an All-Star starter for the first time this year. He added, “I feel like that apology, you know, even in the statement they put out, they included some stuff that wasn’t true, even in an apology. So I don’t think that apology was acceptable.
“I lost a lot of money … and then people were making assumptions, like we didn’t go through the proper protocols. So that’s just all around a bad look, leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I’m extremely offended. My team is offended still. I’m not sure what the conclusion is going to be. All I know is that, that was some bulls—.”
Brown said he heard about the city’s most recent statement on his way to the game and that it fueled his third triple-double of the season (23 points, 15 rebounds, 13 assists).
“I wasn’t even thinking about the game,” said Brown, who will be back in Los Angeles when the Celtics play the Lakers on Sunday. “I was pissed. I was still pissed.”
