The Sacramento Kings played their first playoff game since 2006 on Saturday, and naturally, that meant that plenty of regional luminaries attended the spectacle. Home run king Barry Bonds, former Kings Vlade Divac, Bobby Jackson and Jason Williams and even California governor Gavin Newsom were present as the Kings upset the Warriors and took a 1-0 lead in their first-round series.
However, not every big name that made it to the Golden 1 Center was able to stay for the entire game. A video surfaced late in the game that showed Bay Area rap legend E-40 getting escorted out of his seat by a security official as he argued with Kings fans in the stands.
Here's the video:
On Sunday, E-40 released a statement saying racial bias was the reason for his ejection. He wants the Kings to investigate the incident.
"On Saturday night, I was subjected to disrespectful heckling over the course of the Warriors-Kings game in Sacramento," he said. "During the fourth quarter, I finally turned around and addressed one heckler in an assertive but polite manner. Yet, shortly thereafter, Kings' security approached me, assumed that I instigated the encounter and proceeded to kick me out of the arena. Unfortunately, it was yet another reminder that -- despite my success and accolades as a musician and entrepreneur -- racial bias remains prevalent. Security saw a disagreement between a Black man and a white woman and immediately assumed I that I was at fault."
Here's the full statement:
The Kings responded shortly after E-40's statement and said they would be investigating the incident.
E-40, whose real name is Earl Stevens, was born in the Bay Area and came to prominence on the West Coast. He is a well-known fan of the Warriors, but has expressed fandom for the nearby Kings as well. "When Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic and all 'em played for the Kings I would go to Kings games, too," he said in a 2017 interview with SLAM's Abe Schwadron.
All playoff games are heated. That is especially true when the teams involved are regional rivals. The Warriors have spent most of Sacramento's time out of the playoffs competing for and winning championships.
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