According to the Associated Press, a former security manager for the Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena, Sam Hayes, is suing the organization for allowing white performers to bypass security while allegedly forcing black performers go through a more strict screening.

The suit also claims that Hayes was fired from his position on April 28 for calling out his former boss for racially profiling black entertainers.

Hawks Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Nzinga Shaw stated in an email that Hayes was fired for poor performance and that there is no proof of his claims of black performers being mistreated.

The suit, however, states that Hayes' boss, Jason Parker, told him that he was being fired for firing employees without consulting Human Resources first.

For his part, Hayes  said he was never told he had to consult with HR in those situations and his doing so had not been an issue before.

The suit details how Hayes and Parker found themselves at odds over the course of Hayes' employment, with Hayes upset that the white acts were given special treatment, and Parker allegedly reprimanding Hayes for trying to extend that same special treatment to black celebrities. 

Hayes' suit goes names names when it comes to the unequal treatment.

Hayes describes an incident in August 2016 when rappers Drake and Future asked to bypass the metal detectors and were rejected. However, a week later, Axl Rose and Brian Wilson, white performers, requested the same and were granted easy access. Despite the arena's rules, they were also allowed to park their vehicles in the loading dock.

Drake and Future were only two of the black musicians mentioned in the lawsuit. Allegedly, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Migos, Katt Williams and Kanye West, among several others were named as black entertainers subjected to harsher screenings. Adele, Ariana Grande and Amy Schumer and her entire production crew, however, were allowed to skip the venue's metal detectors.

Hayes says he is not the first to complain about this matter. Apparently, other staff members said that the special treatment of white entertainers at the arena occurred long before Hayes was hired.

The suit claims that it was common knowledge that said that Parker (who is white) demanded "extra tight security at black shows."

According to Hayes, Parker's reasoning for this was that "hip hop acts draw a different crowd, and the white acts bring in more money.”

The lawsuit even details an incident in which Tyler Perry was denied special entrance access for an event for which he was a ticket holder; Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were granted special entrance access for the same event.

This suggests that Parker does not provide special treatment to just white celebrities who were performing by white celebrities in general, and maybe even patrons.

The suit comes at a bad time for the Hawks; the organization was riding high this week on the announcement that it had partnered with Atlanta rapper and one half of Run the Jewels Killer Mike to open up a branch of his barbershop chain, SWAG Shop in the Hawks' arena.

One has to wonder: if these allegations are true, would Killer Mike and his clients face the same sort of discrimination Hayes says is par for the course at the arena?

Hopefully not. Hayes and the Hawks will have their day in court before too long, and we'll all find out for sure.