Undisputed boxing champion Terence “Bud” Crawford may have been feeling the love from his hometown of Omaha over the weekend after going back to celebrate his recent big fight win and his birthday. But on a day that should have been all positive, things would unfortunately took a sharp turn — and now we have video footage to prove it!
Suggested Reading
If you’ve been tapped into the boxing world, you know that on Sep. 13, Crawford defeated Canelo Alvarez in the highly-anticipated super middleweight fight that was livestreamed on Netflix. While many pundits leaned more towards Canelo securing the win, Crawford edged him out with his boxing prowess, clean hands, and overall better form.
In the immediate aftermath, he told Netflix hosts that he’d be going back to his hometown in Nebraska to celebrate.
Well, that celebratory day came over the weekend on Saturday (Sept. 27), with Crawford and hundreds of fans coming together to praise their hometown hero for his monumental achievement and his 38th birthday. And while the parade, live performances and special appearances went off without a hitch, things would unfortunately take a left turn for Crawford and his team mere hours later.
In fact, what happened to him was a stark reminder for Black folks in America that no matter how much success you achieve or how many accolades you receive, you’ll still be looked at as a threat and a target for certain kinds of white folks.
According to local news station KETV, later on Saturday night, Crawford and his people were stopped by Omaha police, citing the fact that they were speeding. And while a traffic stop isn’t unusual, the thing that makes it even more of sticky situation is the fact that Crawford was pulled over at gunpoint–and there’s viral video evidence to prove it.
According to Crawford’s head of security Qasim Shabazz, who was in the car with the boxing champ, he alleged to KETV that two police officers approached them with one going to his window and the other to Crawford’s. But then, that’s when the story starts to differ. Per an official statement from the police, they alleged that they asked Crawford to retrieve his information, like license and registration, and while he was reaching–they observed a gun at his feet.
Crawford was then ordered to step out of the car at gunpoint and placed in handcuffs while the police continued to do their job. The other three people in the car were also told to exit the vehicle at gunpoint and handcuffed. That’s when police claim they found two guns in the car and eventually learned that both Crawford and Shabazz were legally permitted to carry.
According to Shabazz though–that’s not how things went down. He alleged that cops did ask for Crawford’s information but he told them that he didn’t have anything on him because he “left everything at home.”
“He had already told him so there was no reason for him to reach for nothing,” Shabazz said.
Shabazz also said that he informed the officers that he had a gun on him, but when Crawford did the same, things immediately escalated.
“Bud said ‘I have a firearm too.’ The cop on his side went ballistic. Totally unhinged. He says ‘get your hands up! Get out the car, don’t reach! Don’t reach!” Shabazz alleged. “But there was never a physical gun in sight. Everyone thought we were gonna die, man.”
Eventually, Crawford was charged with reckless driving, which is in stark contrast to the “speeding” reason the cops initially gave them for pulling them over. Shabazz later added that Crawford questioned how the cops knew he was speeding since they admitted that they didn’t have radar. That exchange was allegedly caught on camera per Shabazz, but that video has not been shared.
After the footage of ordeal went viral, Omaha mayor John Ewing and his team reached out the decorated fighter who then told him that he wanted an investigation into what happened. Ewing, working in tandem with the chief of police, are now seeking to obtain body camera footage of the night in question so that everyone involved can get clear answers.
“Our job is to not speculate, our job is to get the facts out to the people of this community and then be transparent in every step of the process,” Mayor Ewing said.
The pursuit of facts aside, what’s abundantly clear for many is that this encounter just proves that success isn’t a shield for perceived racism when it comes to Black folks in America. It also just shows how incredulous some police officers can be when you look at the fact that Crawford is one of the most notable faces of Omaha, had the city shut down for most of the day in celebration of his win and birthday–and yet, still was subjected to alleged mistreatment.
If that can happen to someone like him, you can imagine what could go down for regular, everyday Black folks. Once the news and the video began to make the rounds on social media, however, many were shocked and appalled at how the Crawford was treated.
“Omaha gave Terence Crawford the key to the city, a parade, and guns drawn on him by police, on the same night…. Can’t make this up,” wrote one user on X/Twitter.
“Guess even being an all-time boxing great does not make you immune from racial profiling … if I were Bud I would give back that key to the city and move my family out of Omaha … smh,” said another.
Added one other user: “You want to know how America really works? Terence Crawford is celebrated in his city for a major accomplishment during the day and antagonized and cuffed the same night by jealous psychopathic cops.”
One other user noted, “Are you telling me that those officers didn’t recognize the man they shut the city down for hours earlier? Who happens to be the most popular athlete in their city. Just a little discretion and common sense, my goodness.”
“You can be considered one of the greatest boxers of all time coming off of your best victory of your career and that won’t matter to these racist demons in police uniforms. I pray our brother Terence Bud Crawford is OK. Can’t stand these fucking devils,” said another.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.