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The black teenager who was falsely accused of stealing a woman’s phone now needs therapy because the incident seriously injured him … according to his parents.
Keyon Harrold tells TMZ … he and his ex-wife, Cat, is currently investigating therapists and wants to get their son – 14-year-old – Keyon Jr. – soon in trauma therapy. Keyon (the father) tells us that his son is severely traumatized … and has a lot to do with it Miya Ponsetto immediately to him.
Keyon Jr. asked his father a simple question that raises very serious issues, including self-doubt … “Why me?”
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Keyon says he raised his son to become a proud, black man, saying, ‘I tried to instill dignity in my son. I’m trying to build his ego, because for so long egos of black men have been crushed. ‘
Keyon feels without professional help, and his mission could be torpedoed by Ponsetto’s brutal attack on his son. His father tells us, “He wonders if he’s good enough to own an iPhone, and if he’s not in his place in a nice hotel.” That, Keyon says, should be put in the germ immediately.
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There is also a practical problem. Both parents are musicians and travel a lot, which means they quite stay in hotels. Keyon says his son is now showing fear of going to hotels. Keyon Jr. told his father that he was afraid someone would come from behind and tackle him. He is also afraid of being accused of a crime. In fact, on the day of the incident, he told his father he felt like a criminal.
Keyon handles it with broad strokes … “You definitely belong, everywhere you go.”
By the way … long before the incident, Keyon and his son talked about social justice issues and the tragedies of Emmett Till, Michael Brown, George Floyd, and on and on.
Ends on a nice note … at the time of this post, Keyon Jr. in a studio with his dad and some friends recording music. Jr. is a drummer / producer / songwriter. But when Dad talked to us by phone, his son was remaking J. Cole‘s “Be free.”