Incident with Harlem Globetrotters' laundry spurs Topekans to 'make a wrong right'

Southwest Topeka's Aquablast Laundromat found itself being blasted on social media Tuesday after it refused Sunday morning to allow two men from the Harlem Globetrotters to do the team's laundry there.

The business apologized in a post Tuesday morning on its Facebook page, saying the move had no racial overtones and came after a car tried to park in a "no parking" zone in front of the business.

Aquablast regretted the incident, it said.

But Sandy Milligan, who witnessed the confrontation, said she considered it "unforgiveable" to treat anyone, much less visiting celebrities, the way the man in charge at Aquablast treated the two men from the Globetrotters.

That man gloated about it afterward, saying on the phone that he'd "just put the Globetrotters out," Milligan said.

Topeka City Councilwoman Sylvia Ortiz said the Globetrotters expressed appreciation to Ortiz and her daughter, Tania Gibbs, for stepping up to personally do the team's laundry late Sunday at Oakland Easy Wash, 1925 N.E. Seward Ave.

"I just wanted to make a wrong right," Ortiz said. "I wanted to show that we're a loving, caring, giving community."

Globetrotters had just arrived from Oklahoma City

The Globetrotters have traveled the world since 1926 as an exhibition basketball team, putting on performances that combine comedy and skill. They played Saturday afternoon in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Ortiz said the Globetrotters' 19-person traveling party arrived by bus about 3:30 a.m. Sunday in Topeka, where they checked into a hotel before two of them got up early to use a ride-sharing service to go do their laundry.

The two arrived about 7 a.m. at Aquablast with large suitcases full of uniforms and travel gear, Gibbs wrote in a post she put Monday on Facebook.

The full names of the two men weren't available. Ortiz said it was her understanding that one is a referee for the Globetrotters. She didn't know what the other does. The Capital-Journal was attempting to contact the Globetrotters for comment and hadn’t heard back as of Wednesday:

'Our employee asked the customers to leave'

The incident involved "our employee and a car that was attempting to park in a no parking zone immediately in front of our store," Aquablast Laundromat said Tuesday in a post on its Facebook page.

That area is to remain clear for the safety of Aquablast's customers entering and exiting, the post said.

"The conversation moved inside, and did not (defuse) so our employee asked the customers to leave," it said.

Sunday's incident "dealt entirely with the customer parking in the no parking zone blocking the business's front door," Aquablast said. "We are working to resolve this issue and thank Topeka for the wonderful support that they have provided to our business."

Here's what witness Sandy Milligan says

Milligan said the man in charge at the laundromat started "screaming and hollering" at the two men from the Globetrotters because the Lyft vehicle carrying them was in a "no parking" zone.

The man in charge said he was calling the police, and picked up a phone to do that, Milligan said.

But as the two men from the Globetrotters entered the laundromat, the man told them to "Just forget it," she said.

Milligan said one of the men from the Globetrotters responded: "No, sir, I can't forget it. I'm trying to figure out what we did wrong."

Meanwhile, the Lyft vehicle carrying the men from the Globetrotters had left. Before it arrived back at the laundromat, those men posed for photos with members of Milligan's family, she said.

"They couldn't be nicer guys," she said.

'I didn't want them leaving Topeka with that image in their mind'

Ortiz said that after Milligan shared information about the situation on Facebook, Gibbs saw it and told Ortiz about it.

Ortiz said she managed to contact the Globetrotters about 1:45 p.m. Sunday and asked if she and her daughter could do the team's laundry.

"I didn't want them leaving Topeka with that image in their mind," she said.

Ortiz said she met with the Globetrotters after their 3 p.m. performance Sunday at Stormont Vail Events Center.

"They were real hesitant," Ortiz said. "They were hurt."

Ortiz and Gibbs also contacted Eric Naill, the owner of Oakland Easy Wash, and asked if they could use his facilities to wash the team's clothes, Gibbs said in her Facebook post.

"He said, ABSOLUTELY!" Gibbs wrote on Facebook. "Three hours later we had three large suitcases of clean uniforms and other items."

The laundromat owner's daughter, Allie Naill, shared Gibbs' post on her personal Facebook page Monday.

"My dad saved the day!" she wrote.

Photos posted Monday on Gibbs' Facebook page showed Gibbs, Ortiz and Naill posing Sunday at Oakland Easy Wash with two members of the Globetrotters' group as well as jerseys worn by the Globetrotters and the Washington Generals, the team they play regularly and haven't lost to since 1971.

A social media firestorm

Meanwhile, Gibbs' Facebook post detailing what happened created a social media firestorm, getting more than 1,000 "likes" and more than 1,000 shares, and generating new posts made by at least 30 other people.

All were critical of the behavior of the man in charge at Aquablast.

Ortiz said she was surprised to see the incident go viral.

Topeka Mayor Mike Padilla and city manager Stephen Wade were asked about the situation regarding the Globetrotters at their weekly news conference Tuesday morning.

Wade replied that the Topeka community works hard to be friendly and inclusive and has a great reputation for being welcoming and friendly.

He encouraged residents to "just keep doing that."

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka laundromat criticized for way it treated Harlem Globetrotters