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Four NFL Players were Allegedly Turned Away from a London Club for Being "Too Urban"

The athletes were allegedly turned away from Cirque Le Soir​ even though they had reservations.
Mark Ingram/Twitter

Is this what 6 big 'too urban' guys look like?! — Mark Ingram II (@MarkIngram22)February 28, 2017

Four players from the New Orleans Saints NFL team were allegedly denied entry to a London club last night for being "too urban." Running back Mark Ingram said on Twitter that he and three of his teammates, as well as two other companions, were turned away from the elite Soho club Cirque Le Soir even though they had reservations, reports The Guardian.

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Ingram said that the club described him and his friends as "six big guys" even though nobody there was taller than 5'11"; the 2009 Heisman trophy winner himself is only 5'9". The other players in the group were Vonn Bell, Sterling Moore, and B. W. Webb.

After the incident, the running back tweeted the above photo of the group with the caption, "Is this what 6 big 'too urban' guys look like?! #AllSmiles." Ingram also tweeted a screenshot of the WhatsApp conversation telling him he was being turned away.

We pull up to — Mark Ingram II (@MarkIngram22)February 28, 2017

Cirque Le Soir today tweeted an official statement about the incident. "We would not dismiss anyone as 'too urban' and we would not turn anyone away based on the basis of their ethnicity, sexuality, or any other characteristic," they said. "We cannot guarantee entry to anyone and full discretion always lies with the door. We particularly discourage casual dress code, intoxicated customers, and male heavy entourages."

In December it was announced that London will host four NFL games in the upcoming 2017 season as part of the NFL International Series; that is one more than the number of games hosted by the city in each of the previous three seasons.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan recently said that he will look into accusations of racism at central London nightclub, DSTRKT, which has repeatedly been accused of having discriminatory door policies.

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