Ex-Celtic Talks About Mistaken Identity Incident in Wellesley

During Dee Brown’s rookie season with the Celtics, the basketball player was pulled over by Wellesley police, mistaken for a bank robber. Five officers pulled guns on he and his then-fiancee, as an employee at the robbed bank identified Brown as a possible suspect, said the Boston Globe.

Dee and his fiancee had just bought a home in Wellesley Hills and were coming out of the post office in Wellesley when they were surrounded by police in their rented car, according to the New York Times (who then said that nine officers had pulled guns).

Brown recently discussed the incident with the Globe, remembering that the occurrence made waves around the country, as it wasn’t long after the Charles Stuart case, which ignited issues of race relations.

“My experience, other than the initial one, which I don’t think had anything to do [with racism], it was a case of mistaken identity,” he told the Globe. “There’s tension in Boston like there’s tension in New York, tension everywhere else. I really don’t get too caught up in it. The fans are great. They love their Celtics. They love their Bruins and their Patriots.”

Brown played in the NBA for 12 seasons, according to Wikipedia, including the Celtics, the Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic. He later was the head coach for Orlando Miracle and then the San Antonia Silver Stars, and then landed a role as the studio analyst for ESPN. Currently, he’s the assistant coach and director of player development for the Sacramento Kings.