The Sacramento Kings defeated the Golden State Warriors 126-123 in Game 1 of the first round of the NBA playoffs on Saturday. But the Kings first playoff win in 17 years was marred by a fan interaction in the crowd.
During the fourth quarter, Warriors super-fan and rapper Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. - better know by his stage name E-40 - got into an argument with a Kings fan. The conversation got so heated at one point that security escorted Stevens out of the building.
Same!!!! I got a vid pic.twitter.com/OYstXbZb9O
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While some details of the situation remain unclear, Stevens wholeheartedly believes racial bias led to him getting kicked out.
“Unfortunately, it was yet another reminder that — despite my success and accolades as a musician and entrepreneur — racial bias remains prevalent,” Stevens said. “Security saw a disagreement between a Black man and white woman and immediately assumed that I was at fault.”
That’s a pretty lofty accusation to just throw out there - and one that doesn’t really hold water.
As we see in the video, two of the security guards directly involved in escorting Stevens off the court were black, which damages Stevens' claims that the guards were racist. Additionally, the fact pattern for why he got kicked out is still unclear.
Mercury News reported that one unnamed bystander said that a fan was asking Stevens to sit down throughout the game, and in the fourth quarter the rapper turned around and retorted back to the fan.
So let’s say that this version is true, and that Stevens was primarily the one who was making a scene. Does his skin color allow him to treat other people in a negative way without facing consequences, and claim racism if he gets kicked out?
Steven’s version of the story is that a fan had been heckling him throughout the game and that he “turned around and addressed one heckler in an assertive but polite manner.” This could also be true (in which case the other fan should get some sort of punishment), but he also seemed confrontational with the security guards involved in this situation, which could have ultimately led him to getting kicked out.
Sacramento is looking into the situation, and more details will come in the following days. However, racism seems to be the last thing involved in Stevens’ dismissal from the game.
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