The Sacramento Kings face the Boston Celtics at Golden 1 Center on Sunday, but as was the case on Thursday, the focus will be bigger than basketball.
One week after the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Stephon Clark in South Sacramento, both teams will use their global platform to share another strong message:
These tragedies have to stop.
On Thursday, protesters gathered outside Golden 1 Center to spread a similar message, halting fans from entering the arena. As a result, tip-off between the Kings and Atlanta Hawks was delayed with merely thousands in attendance.
Afterward, Kings owner and chairman Vivek Ranadivé, joined by team executives, coaches and players, joined together to deliver sentiment heard around the world.
“We recognize that it’s not just business as usual,” stated Ranadivé. “And we are going to work really hard to bring everybody together to make the world a better place starting with our own community, and we’re going to work really hard to prevent this kind of a tragedy from happening again.”
Before Sunday’s contest, both teams will continue awareness efforts by wearing warmup shirts that read “Accountability. We Are One.” on the front and “#StephonClark” on the back.
In addition to shirts, members of both teams joined together on Saturday for a PSA that will air in-arena during the first quarter.
“These tragedies have to stop,” De’Aaron Fox opens.
“We will not stick to sports,” Garrett Temple continues.
“We will not shut up and dribble,” urges Celtics big man Al Horford.
NBA activism once again takes center stage on Sunday, as the Kings and Celtics stand at the forefront of continuing the important and necessary conversation.