Six African-American men, including three-star NFL players playing for the New Orleans Saints, say that they were prevented from entering a London nightclub earlier this week, after having allegedly been told that they were "too urban" for the venue.

"We pull up to Cirque le Soir where we have reservations and this is what they tell us," New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram wrote in the caption of a DM he took a screen shot of and posted to Twitter on Monday, February 27. "They said too urban ... It's six big guys," the message read. Among those in Ingram's company were Sterling Moore, Vonn Bell, and B.W. Webb.

Cirque le Soir have since released a statement to the Press Association Sport, in which they adamantly deny declining the group's reservation based on an observation of them being "too urban," stating instead that it is the venue's policy to turn all-male groups away. The upscale club referred the public to its Facebook page where it says the policy is plainly written, as it claims it to be on all reservation confirmation emails.

"All of the team at Cirque le Soir are really upset by the suggestion that there was anything malicious in our turning away of Mark Ingram and his friends from the club on Monday 27th February," the statement lamented. "We proudly celebrate diversity, not only as part of our shows, but as part of who we are. We would not dismiss anyone as "too urban" and we would not turn anyone away on the basis of their ethnicity, sexuality or any other characteristic."

In closing, Cirque le Soir said it looks forward to admitting Ingram and his party, presuming it includes women, in the future. But the invitation may not be enough to persuade any NFL players to attend the venue anytime soon, as the reaction from players across the league to the tweet indicate that they stand with Ingram, Bell and Webb. "Not too urban for @NFL to have us performing over there tho," Baltimore Ravens tight end Benjamin Watson tweeted back.

Barring an acceptance of Cirque's apology, the club stands to miss out on an opportunity to take advantage of the overseas schedule of games the NFL hosts in London each year. Ingram and the Saints are actually one of the teams marked down to head over and entertain British fans in the coming season when they take on the Miami Dolphins.

Source: espn.com