Protesters block Golden 1 Center during Kings game for a second time on Tuesday night
Protestors prevented fans from entering the Golden 1 Center to watch the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night, for the second time in less than a week.
For the second time in less than a week, protestors showed up in front of the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento to call for action in the Stephon Clark case by blocking fans from entering the arena.
Stephon Clark was gunned down by police on March 18 at his grandparent’s house with nothing more than a cell phone in his possession. Video footage released by the police has sparked yet another period of grieving and protesting in an American city because of unnecessary police brutality, and this time the protests are keeping Kings fans from watching the home team, according to the Sacramento Bee.
"At Golden 1, the Kings were scheduled to tip off against the Dallas Mavericks at 7 p.m. The game started on time with more fans in their seats than during the first protest Thursday. The Kings estimated 4,000 were in attendance in an arena that holds 17,600.Thousands more were stranded outside.“You ain’t seeing no game tonight. Join us or go home!” protesters shouted at them."
This isn’t the first time that the NBA has come to the intersection of a wrongful death and the activism that follows. After the death of Trayvon Martin, the Miami Heat wore hoodies to show solidarity with the teen and those calling for justice. After the death of Eric Garner, several NBA players wore shirts that read “I Can’t Breathe” during pregame shootarounds. And at the beginning of this season, myriad NBA stars spoke out about President Donald Trump and the way he has spoken about black athletes and the way they chose to support Colin Kaepernick’s silent protests.
This is, however, the first time that protesters have taken the movement to the front steps of an NBA arena in a way that affect’s the league’s bottom line.
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Clark protestors first stood outside of the Golden 1 Center on March 22 in a game against the Hawks which led to a locked-down arena and a pushed back start time. On Sunday, the Kings and the NBA responded by allowing players to wear shirts that honored Clark and read, “Accountability. We Are One” on the front.
This, however, did not stop protestors from standing in front of the Kings arena for a second time as they continue to put pressure on the City of Sacramento to bring charges to the officers who unjustly gunned down Clark. There is no telling how the NBA or the city will respond to the protestors using the Golden 1 Center as their platform, but it is unlikely that those calling for action are going to willingly stop anytime soon.