Rapper E-40, a noted Golden State Warriors fan, was in Sacramento at the Golden 1 Center for Game 1 on against the Sacramento Kings Saturday night and was ejected. The rap legend alleges that the ejection was racially motivated.
What Happened To E-40 ?
Allegedly E-40 and a white female fan got into a verbal back and forth, and when security arrived, the Bay Area native was asked to leave.
“Unfortunately, it was yet another reminder that — despite my success and accolades as a musician and entrepreneur — racial bias remains prevalent,” E-40 said in the statement to ESPN. “Security saw a disagreement between a Black man and a white woman and immediately assumed that I was at fault.”
“The Sacramento Kings take these claims seriously and are investigating the facts and circumstances regarding the situation, as we do anytime an accusation like this is made,” said the team in a statement.
It will be interesting to know how investigations like this are conducted. We assume available video is reviewed and people are interviewed.
40 is a season ticket holder for the Warriors at the Chase Center in San Francisco. He sits courtside next to the team’s bench.
Why Did Security Only Eject 40?
Did they speak to the woman? What did any of the other attendees in that area say about the incident?
According to Andscape’s Marc Spears, security believed E-40 was excessively standing and blocking the view of fans behind him and that the rapper was given a warning and failed to comply.
Sources close to E-40 say no such warning was given.
Excessive Standing?
If you’ve ever sat behind anyone at a game that’s par for the course, right? Not sure I’ve ever heard of security telling a fan to sit at a game?
The question is, was security targeting E-40 because he’s Black?
That will be a difficult thing to prove insofar as if it is provable.
“I’ve attended countless NBA games throughout my lifetime and have always prided myself in my professionalism, so this experience has been jarring. I was absolutely humiliated by the Kings’ security team and I’m calling on the franchise to investigate the appalling conduct that transpired.”
Maybe this was a disgruntled Kings fan who didn’t like 40 talking smack? How and why did security get involved?
If security’s rationale is we asked him to sit and he didn’t, not sure what can be done about that. Arena security has discretionary authority over these types of things.
Given that 40 is a celebrity it may make some noise, but it will be very difficult for any type of resolution.
Maybe Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé will comp his next tickets? Offer an apology?
The bottom line is as a society we’d benefit by being more civil to one another. Maybe 40 and the fan could keep their heckling limited to the game and nothing should escalate beyond that.
Meanwhile the Kings took Game 1 with some excellent shotmaking down the stretch by De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk. Game 2 is Monday night in Sacramento.
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