BOSTON (AP) — The City of Beverly Hills apologized to Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown on Thursday for initially stating that an event he hosted on the eve of the NBA All-Star Game was shut down because the city said it lacked a permit.
“Upon further internal review, the City has determined that its prior public communication contained inaccurate information,” the city said in a statement posted to Instagram. “Specifically, no permit application was
submitted nor denied for the event and the residence does not have any prior related violations on record.”
But Brown posted a statement from Jaylen Brown Enterprises on the X platform Thursday night taking issue with another part of the city's statement that claimed the event was actually shut down because of a perceived code violation.
The event promoting Brown’s performance brand, 741, was held at Oakley founder Jim Jannard’s home. Brown has a sponsorship deal with Oakley.
“We acknowledge the City of Beverly Hill's recent clarification confirming that prior public statements made on their behalf were incorrect and false; specifically that no permit was ever applied for, denied, and that the residence had no prior violations on record, ” the statement said.
The statement from Brown's company added that while it appreciated the clarification, it still took issue with the city's insistence that the event was shut down because of a belief that a code violation had taken place.
“No alleged proof of any violation was ever produced to the homeowner, our team or legal counsel,” the statement said. “Without observation, documentation, or confirmed violations, enforcement action based on belief alone raises serious due-process concerns.”
On Sunday, Beverly Hills released a statement to The Boston Globe, saying it rejected a permit.
“An event permit had been applied for and denied by the City due to previous violations associated with events at the address,” the statement to the Globe said. “Despite the fact that the permit was denied, organizers still chose to proceed with inviting hundreds of guests knowing that it was not allowed to occur. BHPD responded and shut down the unpermitted event.”
Brown countered to ESPN, saying: “That was not true. We didn’t need a permit because the owner of the house, that was his space. We were family friends. He opened up the festivities to us so we didn’t have to. We never applied for one.”
The statement from Brown’s company on Thursday said it remains “open to a constructive resolution with the City of Beverly Hills.”
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