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James Blake was the victim of some good, old-fashioned NYPD roughing up on Wednesday (Sept. 9) as the former top-five ranked tennis player was waiting to attend a U.S. Open event. Blake, who insisted along with the police that the attack didn’t appear racially motivated, got an apology just the same of the highly-criticized police department.

According to a Fox News report, NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton was “anxious” to apologize to Blake for what he called an officer’s “fast approach” takedown that left the former athlete slightly bruised. Bratton and New York mayor Bill de Blasio both say they reached out to Blake and his camp to offer their apologies and the commissioner once more stated that probable cause, not race, was the reason the cops ran up gangbusters style.

From Fox News:

Chief Bob Boyce, the head of detectives, said police were notified on Monday about Internet credit card thefts. Detectives set up a controlled delivery at the hotel and spotted Blake, who bears a “remarkable” likeness to one of the subjects provided to police in the investigation.

“They look like twins,” Boyce said.

The courier involved in the set-up also misidentified Blake.

As noted by the good folks over at Gawker, the fact that Blake is a recognizable name and getting a ton of press over the matter, that NYPD apology seems just a touch artificial. That said, there are a lot of other Black people who are just as deserving as the Harvard-educated former tennis pro of an apology after interactions with New York cops.

Photo: WENN