On Tuesday evening, New York Giants player Nikita Whitlock came home to his New Jersey apartment completely vandalized while out with his wife and two children. Racist messages such as “Go back to Africa,” “KKK,” a swastika, “and racial slurs were spray-painted on the walls, as well as “Trump.” This was the second time his home was broken into in the past few weeks. The people responsible for this hate crime also stole jewelry and video game systems.
Crimes like these have been at a all-time high ever since Donald Trump won the presidential election, such as people ripping off women’s hijabs and writing messages like the ones on Whitlock’s walls on subways. Trump says he doesn’t associate himself with people like that, even though these “alt-right” participants (a.k.a actual Nazis) are doing it in his name.
Whitlock took photos of the damage done in his apartment to spread awareness on Instagram.
“Racism is real and instead of close to home this time they came inside. My family is safe but we are saddened by the hate. Thanks to the Moonachie Police Department for all of your help! #Haters #Racism #AllLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatter #SidelineRacism”
The first thing Whitlock did when he returned home that evening was cover up the swastika to keep his six-year-old son from seeing it.
“It just re-establishes that no matter where you are, no matter who you are, this can happen to you.”
