NEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans Saints running back Deuce McAllister alleges in a lawsuit that he was manhandled during Mardi Gras a year ago by bouncers at the same Bourbon Street nightclub now under fire in the death of a black college student from Georgia.
The death of Levon Jones, a 25-year-old Georgia Southern student, on New Year's Eve at the hands of three bouncers has become a rallying point for black civic groups and ministers who
accuse French Quarter businesses of fostering and allowing racism.
The three Razzoo Bar and Patio bouncers face negligent homicide charges after Jones died in a scuffle with them. The Orleans Parish coroner said Jones suffocated as one bouncer held him in a headlock for 12 minutes, another pressed down on his back while the third bouncer held his legs.
In the suit filed Wednesday, McAllister alleges that he was also manhandled on Feb. 24, 2004, after he asked bouncers why they were kicking his friends out of the club. According to the suit,
bouncers punched McAllister and held him in a chokehold, causing
him to lose consciousness and fall to his knees.
McAllister was bruised and cut and suffered from blurry vision
after the incident, his suit says. The suit argues that similar
incidents involving bouncers abusing patrons shows that Razzoo's
management did not properly train its staff.
In a prepared statement, McAllister said that "as a member of
the New Orleans community, I have become increasingly concerned
about how Razzoo's handles its security."
He said he decided "to pursue this matter in the hopes that a
positive verdict will enact change in their way of protecting
patrons."
His lawyer, Donald Foret, declined to comment.
Jones reportedly was assaulted after he tried to help a friend
who had been turned away because he failed to meet the club's dress
code. Jones' family has filed a wrongful death suit against the
bar; the suit alleges one of the bouncers grabbed Jones' friend,
Anthony Williams, after he said similarly dressed white people were
going into bar.
Jones was a flag football player at Georgia Southern who was in
New Orleans with teammates for a tournament.
Civil rights organizations, including the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference, the NAACP and a group of New Orleans
ministers, have accused Razzoo's owners of racism.
Razzoo is a popular bar and nightclub with karaoke and live
music featured every night. It is on the 500 block of Bourbon
Street, one of the busiest stretches in the French Quarter.
Razzoo's owners denied the accusations. In the case of Jones and
Williams, the bar says they started the scuffle by assaulting
staff.
Meanwhile, the accusations of racism have expanded, and critics
said some businesses close during predominantly black events. On
Thursday, a crowd complained to the city's Human Relations
Commission.
The nightclub told the commission that it stays open during the
Essence festival and the Bayou Classic and that 35 blacks work
there in management, supervisory and security positions. The club
also said that one of the accused bouncers lived for several years
with an African-American roommate.
Razzoo noted that "another of the accused was the best man in
the wedding of his sister to his close friend, an African-American.
To call this man a racist is blatantly untrue."
At Thursday's commission meeting, a heated exchange broke out
between black residents and Gae Edin, an owner of Razzoo. Residents
shouted out that the nightclub should be closed.
Commission members said they would report to the mayor in a
month. The commission also plans to send out "mystery customers"
-- people of varying racial backgrounds and ages wearing different
types of clothing -- to visit businesses and report on how they are
treated.