Apology

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.”

How does Mick Cronin survive this, sending his own player off the court after hustling hard on defense to get a piece of the ball but unfortunately too much contact and drew a foul. Does he not constantly rip his team for weak defense?

Steven Jamerson, you deserved better from your coach and I won’t be surprised if your teammates and UCLA’s decision-makers agree going forward. Except …. he just recently got an extension. Way to go, Martin Jarmond.

Ron Mortvedt
San Bernardino

How can UCLA’s combustible coach possibly demand discipline, hold his players responsible, or blame them for failing to take accountability when, night after night, he’s the most unhinged person in the building? Hey Mick, as my grandma used to say, “When you point a finger at someone, three point back at you.”

Steve Ross
Carmel

Bill Plaschke nailed it in his column today. Mick Cronin just seems to be angry all the time prowling the sidelines. What does that look like to a kid still playing in high school? How AD Martin Jarmond gave him an extended contract with a $22.5-million buyout is beyond me. It’s going to cost UCLA to move on from him. It would be a lot easier if he only starts throwing chairs.

Paul Atkinson
Ventura

The sky has fallen! For the first time I can remember I agree with something Bill Plaschke has written!

Julian Pollok

Palm Desert

As a lifelong fan and proud alumnus, I believe it’s time for UCLA to seriously evaluate the direction of its men’s basketball program. Why would we want a head coach who appears angry every time he’s in the spotlight? Leadership sets the tone, and right now that tone feels tense and joyless. Players want to compete for someone who inspires them and makes them better — not someone whose public demeanor seems rooted in frustration.

Watching from the outside, it often looks like the team is playing tight rather than confident, and that reflects leadership. Mick Cronin has had success and deserves credit for that, but UCLA basketball is bigger than any one résumé; if the standard is sustained excellence and a culture players are proud to represent, then it’s fair to question whether this is the right long-term fit for the program.

Michael Gesas
Beverly Hills

BBC Radio 2 presenter Vernon Kay apologised to listeners after getting emotional while discussing his family life, before accidentally saying the wrong thing on air

BBC presenter Vernon Kay, who shares two daughters with wife Tess Daly, has issued an apology for using language his mum wouldn’t be pleased with, during a discussion about vintage technology that prompted him to share personal family memories.

The TV and radio presenter, 51, explored how technology has evolved by referencing his Sony Walkman. Vernon explained: “Earlier this week I was talking about finding my old [Sony] Walkman in the loft, played some old mixtapes from various clubs in the north west.

“It’s interesting, we were talking in the studio how the evolution of playing music whilst you’re on the go, whilst you’re mobile, has changed so much through the years. I was fascinated, I lifted the lid and just watched the tape go round.

“I was in a trance, thinking wow it’s so mechanical, it’s so raw, it’s there, you can see the engineering in it and these days you just press play and music plays in your ear.

“There was something so stunning about watching a tape go round knowing that back in the day, it was the opposite, you hated winding it on with a pencil and then mixtapes. So there have been many advances in personal listening technology, some of which took off, others not so much.”

Vernon subsequently played a segment from Tomorrow’s World showcasing the Dataplay, a device that never gained traction.

Later during the BBC programme, he turned to video recordings and revealed how his dad would accompany his grandad on lorry trips throughout Europe, before inadvertently uttering the word “Jesus”, then recalling his mother’s disapproval of taking the Lord’s name in vain.

He explained: “My mum in particular, has some footage somewhere of my grandad from way back when, because when my dad used to do international lorry driving he used to take my mum’s dad with him in his truck.

“So they’d go down to the south of Spain, Africa, all that kind of stuff. I think they’ve got some old cine-reel footage of them both trucking together.

“Trucks in them days weren’t as comfy as they are now….I was emotional then, I was getting quite emotional then.”

He then remarked to radio producer Phil: “You’re like a big full stop. He’d be a rubbish therapist, move on, your time’s up son, get out. Go on. Jesus.”

Suddenly realising his slip-up, he quickly added: “Sorry for swearing, do beg your pardon…You just feel so relaxed and then you forget that seven million people are listening.

“I’m so sorry. Gladys, she hates me using the Lord’s name in vain…so sorry.”

Files published by the US Department of Justice included flirtatious emails between Casey Wasserman and Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

Los Angeles 2028 Olympics chief Casey Wasserman has ‍apologised for communicating with ‍convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell more than 20 years ago, after the publication of a series of personal emails between the two.

New files related to late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Maxwell’s former boyfriend, published by the United States Department of Justice on ⁠Friday, included flirtatious email exchanges between Wasserman, who was married at the time, and Maxwell dating ​from 2003.

Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being found guilty in ‍2021 by a jury in New York on charges including sex trafficking of a minor. Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial.

“I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,” Wasserman said in a ‍statement on Sunday.

“I ⁠am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them.”

Maxwell was arrested in 2020 after being accused by federal prosecutors of recruiting and grooming girls for sexual encounters with Epstein between 1994 and 2004.

“I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell,” said Wasserman, adding that it took place before her and Epstein’s crimes “came to light”.

The International Olympic Committee, which works very closely with Wasserman in preparation for the Summer Olympic Games, refused ​to comment on the matter.

“I believe Mr Wasserman has put out his ‌statement and we have nothing further to add,” IOC President Kirsty Coventry said in a press conference before the start of next week’s Milano-Cortina Olympics.

Asked whether the Wasserman emails were a distraction shortly before the Milano Games, Coventry said ‌there had been past Olympics that were dogged by stories prior to their start, such as the Zika virus before the Rio de Janeiro ‌2016 Olympics.

“Anything that is distracting from these Games is sad,” ⁠Coventry said.

“But we have learned over the many years … there has always been something that has taken the lead, leading up to the Games. What is keeping my faith alive is when the opening ceremony happens … suddenly the world remembers ‌the magic and spirit the Games have,” she said.

Wasserman is a sports and entertainment executive who has been leading the LA28 Olympic project from the bidding phase and currently serves as chairman of ‍the organising committee, which is due to deliver a progress report to the IOC session on Tuesday.

The 2028 Summer Olympics were awarded to the city in 2017.

WASHINGTON — The House, with Rep. Norman Y. Mineta (D-San Jose) emotionally recalling his own experiences in a camp for Japanese-American internees during World War II, today gave final congressional approval to a bill expressing a national apology and providing a $20,000 tax-free payment to every surviving internee.

The bill, whose total price tag is $1.25 billion, passed by a vote of 257 to 156 and now goes to President Reagan, who has already promised to sign it and “close a sad chapter in American history.”

The bill provides for the tax-free payments to an estimated 62,000 former internees who are still living.

It acknowledges “the fundamental injustice of the evacuation, relocation, and internment” of the 120,000 men, women and children, mostly West Coast residents of Japanese ancestry, in the months after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December, 1941, propelling the United States into the war.

‘A Monumental Injustice’

Mineta was 10 years old when he and his family were taken in 1942 from their home in San Jose to a prison camp established at the Santa Anita race track. Today he presided as Speaker pro tem as the House took final action on the compensation bill.

“This legislation touches all of us because it goes to the very core of our nation,” Mineta said in a speech closing debate. “I am deeply honored to serve in this body as it takes the great step of admitting and redressing a monumental injustice.”

But the bill was opposed by a number of members who, although they agreed the evacuation order was wrong, said cash payments were not appropriate.

Rep. Norman D. Shumway (R-Stockton) said: “There was a serious wrong done to many good American citizens. . . . But I do not see the remedy, the payment of $20,000, as the right answer.”

Nothing for Families

The Senate approved the measure by voice vote last week. The bill authorizes $1.25 billion for the payments, but the money will be provided over time with no more than $500 million to be appropriated in any one year.

The measure does not provide compensation to families of internees now dead; only those living when the bill becomes law will be eligible for the $20,000 payments.

The Japanese-Americans were rounded up and sent to the internment camps in the Rocky Mountains and the South under a 1942 executive order signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Despite arguments that the order violated the constitutional rights of those sent to the camps without any charge or trial, the Supreme Court ruled in 1944 the action was within the President’s powers as commander in chief in wartime.

In 1980, a special commission was created to examine the issue. It recommended that compensation be paid, concluding that the evacuation order was based on war hysteria and racial prejudice. No similar action was taken against Americans of German or Italian ancestry, although the United States also was at war with those two countries.

Aleutian Islanders

The bill directs the Justice Department to identify and locate eligible individuals, who will be notified and then have 18 months to accept payment.

It also provides restitution payments of $12,000 to residents of the Aleutian Islands who were relocated by the government during the war. In addition, the bill provides $5-million compensation for the Aleuts for destruction of their villages and community property, plus $1.4 million for destroyed church property.

Another $15 million is provided to compensate the Aleuts for the loss of Attu Island, which was turned into a national wildlife refuge following the war.