Ray Parks and Zeinab Harake. Image: Instagram/@ray1parks
Updated May 25
Basketball player Bobby Ray Parks Jr. issued an apology after his earlier social media post went viral, in which he blamed the lounge staff of an airline for the loss of the mobile phone of his fiancée, Zeinab Harake.
In a now-deleted post, Parks claimed that Harake’s phone had nearly been stolen at the airport lounge, expressing his hope that the incident would be investigated.
“Can’t believe my wife’s cellphone almost got stolen at the Mabuhay Lounge at Terminal 1. [We] mentioned CCTV and suddenly the phone popped up. I hope they continue to investigate and that I hear an update about the culprit. Let’s do better,” he wrote on Facebook.
Image: Facebook/Ray Parks
Hours later, Parks turned to social media again to offer an apology, reflecting that the matter should have been handled privately.
“I didn’t expect this to be blown out of proportion,” he wrote. “First off, I’ll take responsibility and apologize to everyone involved because posting things online got everyone involved. This should have been handled internally.”
The Filipino-American athlete then commended the airport staff for their efforts, calling for understanding as they moved forward.
“I’m glad that the investigation continued and due diligence was done so great a job on the part of PAL and the Mabuhay lounge staff on that. As we move forward, may reconciliation happen and may we all continue to do better and be better. Peace and Love, God bless,” he concluded the post.
Image: Facebook/Ray Parks
In a statement, the airlines denied that Harake’s phone was stolen, based on its CCTV footage.
“The CCTV footage shows that the phone was inadvertently left near the edge of the food table and accidentally fell into the trash bin. Our lounge attendant, upon being alerted, acted swiftly and in good faith by reviewing the CCTV footage. As a result, the phone was located and returned it to Ms. Harake. Unfortunately, despite
the efforts of our lounge attendant, there was wrongful accusation of theft,” it stated.
The flight carrier further said it has written a demand letter to Parks and provided a copy of the CCTV footage.
In June 2023, Harake and Parks went public with their relationship. One year later, they announced their engagement. The pair shared in an interview with the press last March that they are set to tie the knot in a Christian wedding later this year.
Harake has two children—Lucas, whom she adopted, and Bia, whom she shares with her rapper ex-boyfriend, Skusta Clee.