Bay Area, California, hip-hop legend E-40 is one of the biggest supporters of the Golden State Warriors basketball team. Seen typically sitting next to the team’s bench at their games, the 55-year-old has been loyal to the team for years.
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As the NBA Playoffs kicked off this past weekend, E-40 stuck to his routine. Attending the Warriors’ game Saturday (April 15) against the Sacramento Kings, the day was meant to be a normal basketball outing. However, things took a turn mid-game.
E-40 was ejected and escorted from his seats at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento during the game after an altercation with fans and security. After the game via NBA reporter Shams Charania, E-40 released a statement claiming that he did not instigate the situation.
“On Saturday night, I was subjected to disrespectful heckling over the course of the Warriors-Kings game in Sacramento,” he wrote. “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.”
Additionally, he alleged that his condemnation and ejection were racially motivated.
“Unfortunately, it was yet another reminder that — despite my success and accolades as a musician and entrepreneur — racial bias remains prevalent,” he continued. “Security saw a disagreement between a Black man and a white woman and immediately assumed that I was at fault.”
Coming to his aid the morning after the game, Warriors player Klay Thompson advocated for E-40 and said he felt bad for this injustice done to him.
“Unfortunate, I love 40. He’s been our biggest supporter for years & I hope they right that ship… In my time knowing him he’s always been respectful & considerate of those around him so it was very weird to see & I hope it’s resolved,” Thompson told media on Sunday (April 16).
However, contradicting statements from E-40 and Thompson, NBA reporter Marc J. Spears revealed that Golden 1 Center security felt that E-40 obstructed the view of fans many times during the game and never acknowledged warnings given to him, which led to the confrontation. ESPN later reported that E-40 refuted these claims.
Sunday also saw the Sacramento Kings organization release a statement to Charania, explaining they would investigate the debacle.
“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.”
The Warriors play the Kings again for game 2 of their playoff series on Monday night (10 p.m. ET). Taking place in Sacramento again, E-40 has already confirmed he will not be in attendance. He does, however, plan on being at the Chase Center in San Francisco later this week for game 3 of the Warriors-Kings series.
(Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
