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A screenshot of Brandon Brown’s Instagram account.

Pro basketball player Brandon Brown (35, Anyang KGC) publicly shared racist messages he had received from South Korean fans, becoming the second athlete to do so after a previous disclosure by Ricardo Ratliffe (also known by the Korean name Ra Gun-ah).

On Jan. 16, Brown shared a racist message he had received via Instagram. The messages included a “curse,” with the poster writing, “I hope u die by car clash [sic] accident.”

With Brown’s sharing of the racist messages coming after Ratliffe previously complained of racism on Instagram on Jan. 14, the issue of racist attacks on foreign athletes by fans is emerging as a public issue.

The message shared by Ratliffe similarly contained attacks, racist remarks, curse words, and insults directed at his family members. “The other foreign players in the KBL are better than you. Go back to your country,” one of them read.

Ratliffe became a naturalized South Korean citizen in January 2018 and is considered one of the star players on the national team, which earned a bronze medal competing at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta/Palembang.

Meeting with reporters on Jan. 16 at the KCC training center in Yongin after disclosing the messages, Ratliffe said he had heard about other foreign players also receiving racist messages. When asked whether he thought the issue of racism among South Korean pro basketball plans was more serious than for other leagues, he answered, “Yes.”

Brown wrote, “Bro, everyone is tough behind their little iPhone or Android. But you got to keep pushin’.”

“You hoop to provide for your daughter, wife, immediate family and for the love of the game,” he continued.

He also shared a message of support for Ratliffe, writing, “Keep hooping my boi [sic] and keep settin’ an example for [Ratliffe’s daughter] Rhea and all the little Korean kids that look up to you.”

By Lee Jun-hee, staff reporter

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