Fired SoFi Stadium worker will hold press conference with civil rights leaders to apologize
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- The SoFi Stadium worker who was fired after knocking over two vendor carts and bruising a 12-year-old outside the arena on Saturday will hold a press conference with African American civil rights leaders to apologize and call for Los Angeles County and city to support street vendors.
The fired worker has identified himself as Marvin Carroll, who now deeply regrets his actions outside the Inglewood venue, according to a press release put out by Project Islamic Hope.
The press conference, scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday, will be held at SoFi Stadium, according to the press release.
Carrol will first issue an apology, then he and the civil rights leaders will call for regionwide effort to patronize street vendors.
"But the victims can't feed their children and families with an apology. That's why our coalition of African American leaders are calling for a L.A. County and City wide effort to patronize street vendors especially in South Central, Los Angeles where Latino street vendors unfortunately have been the victims of robbery, beatings, harassment and shootings by African Americans," the press release stated.
Eyewitness News reported over the weekend that a string of armed robberies had targeted street vendors in South Los Angeles.
Carroll, wearing a "SoFi Stadium Guest Experience" shirt, got into a confrontation with the vendors after a concert Saturday night, resulting in him flipping over the two carts, sending food flying to the ground and causing minor injuries to a 12-year-old girl who was watching the cart for her parents.
SoFi Stadium says the individual did not work directly for the stadium, but for a third-party vendor:
"We are aware that an incident occurred Saturday night outside of the stadium and are working with law enforcement to look into the matter. The individual involved was employed by a third-party vendor, and we have been advised that he has since been terminated. Maintaining a safe environment is our number one priority, and we will continue to regularly evaluate staffing and protocols across all of our vendors to ensure an enjoyable entertainment experience."
The incident unfolded after a Romeo Santos concert at SoFi.
Luis Franco, one of the two vendors, said the worker had asked the food-cart operators to move back from the entrance. Franco says they complied but then the man returned and started arguing and threatening them, then flipped the carts over.
"He said you want to see me mad, you want to see mad. And at that moment he started throwing the carts. Someone could have passed by and could have gotten burned," said Franco.
Franco said the damage and lost food cost him about $500.
The other cart was being manned by a 12-year-old girl with her two siblings while their mother was using the restroom. Witnesses say the man threw the cart to the ground. The girl's mother said she was left bruised when some of the items struck her. She was also left frightened by the experience.
