Legendary rapper E-40 was kicked out of Saturday night’s playoff game between the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings, and he claims “racial bias” played a role in what transpired. The Kings are now investigating the incident.
E-40, whose real name is Earl Stevens, was escorted out of Golden 1 Center during Sacramento’s 126-123 Game 1 win over Golden State. Stevens, a Warriors fan, said in a statement after the game that he was “subjected to disrespectful heckling” and “addressed one heckler in an assertive but polite manner” in the fourth quarter.
Stevens said Kings security approached him at that point and assumed he instigated the disagreement.
“Unfortunately, it was yet another reminder that — despite my success and accolades as a musician and entrepreneur — racial bias remains prevalent,” the statement read. “Security saw a disagreement between a black man and a white woman and immediately assumed that I was at fault.”
ESPN’s Marc J. Spears was told by sources that Golden 1 Center security believed Stevens stood excessively and blocked the view of fans behind him. They also said Stevens refused to comply with a warning after several fans complained. Both Kings and Warriors security tried to escort Stevens out without further distraction, according to Spears.
Some fans shared videos on social media of E-40 being removed from the game.
Rapper E-40 gets kicked out of Kings-Warriors game pic.twitter.com/XTUQPV147Q
— FootBasket™.com (@FootBasket) April 16, 2023
A source close to Stevens told Spears that the rapper was never given a warning about excessively standing at his seat.
The Kings said in a statement on Sunday that they are looking into the incident further.
“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 team said.
E-40 is from the Bay Area and has courtside seats to Warriors games at Chase Center. It is unclear if he plans to attend Game 2 in Sacramento or Game 3 at Golden State.
It seems like there has been an increase this season in fans being kicked out of games, but many of the incidents began with players being heckled by fans.
