MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Members of a Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest team are speaking out over what they call an incident of racial profiling during Friday’s events.
Multiple members of the “Game of Bones” BBQ team are outraged after a Shelby County Sheriff’s Officer escorted two of their Black teammates out of Tom Lee Park for violating rules related to a safety issue.
The group’s members told ABC24 that Memphis in May said groups were supposed to have their outdoor chairs no further into the street than where tent lines ended.
Still, the team members say the rules changed multiple times over the weekend and they believe the incident was clearly racially motivated since only the Black team members were escorted out.
Team member Scott Ready witnessed the incident, Lauren Ready recorded the incident and other team members were also there watching and speaking with officers.
“The reason we were given [for being asked to leave], was due to an altercation with one of our team members,” Scott Ready said. “I was standing there with the and I witnessed no altercation.”
"One of our team members who was not involved in the incident," Ready said. "He was not questioning the officers. He was not involved in kind of the dynamics of all of that, but they were singled out by the security officers and asked to leave the park.”
One of the people who was escorted out was Sir Gregory Thornton — a lifelong Memphian, pastor and first time contestant at the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Contest.
"When I was face-to-face with that officer, I began to feel so much anger,” Thornton said. “I felt shame, I felt disrespected, I felt belittled as a man, I felt like I was unjustly being removed from a place because I was Black.”
“Nothing like this has ever happened to us, but you can probably guess why,” Lauren Ready said.
The Readys said they saw other contestants breaking the same rule but were not escorted out.
“How can you go to a festival that’s the thing we tout as a beautiful event to come see our city and not everyone’s welcome,” Lauren said.
“We also have had no communication about the incident from Memphis in May,” Scott Ready said. “They have not been interested in hearing our side of it or what happened.”
Memphis in May released a statement about the incident on Monday, saying in part:
“Teams that were positioned on Riverside Drive were informed of the requirements in advance and asked to modify their external footprint and activity to preserve the pathway. … The decision to ask the team to vacate for the evening was purely the result of rule violations after repeated warnings and had nothing to do with individual team members or race."
While some officers involved were sheriffs, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office directed ABC24 to Memphis in May for a comment. Their entire statement can be found at the bottom of this article.
“I left feeling like I lost my right as a man, as a citizen to stand and speak up for myself,” Thornton said. “Because I knew if I would have continued to stand there and go back and forth with him, I would have been perceived as an aggressor and we know how that often turns out for Black men in America.”
The team members want Memphis in May to issue them a public apology over the incident and refund them all costs for competing in the contest and having a tent set up.
ABC24 is also waiting for further comment from Memphis in May about the possibility for reimbursements and clarification on why only Black team members from “Game of Bones” were escorted out.
Memphis in May entire statement:
"For safety reasons, it was critical to establish and maintain an unobstructed continuous pathway along Riverside Drive in Tom Lee Park during the WCBCC this year. Teams that were positioned on Riverside Drive were informed of the requirements in advance and asked to modify their external footprint and activity to preserve the pathway.
Unfortunately, one team was asked to vacate their space for one evening due to repeated rule violations related to this safety issue. The decision to ask the team to vacate for the evening was purely the result of rule violations after repeated warnings and had nothing to do with individual team members or race.
The team was allowed to return the next morning, host guests, and compete in the competition.
Overall event safety is the top priority for all MIM events and unobstructed access for first responders, emergency vehicles and possible evacuations is a critical element of the site design.
All teams agree to follow the rules and regulations to participate in the contest."