Golden State Warriors fan and Bay Area hip-hop legend E-40 was kicked out of Saturday night’s playoff game between the Warriors and Kings in Sacramento, California, and he said “racial bias” led to his dismissal.
Videos show the rapper, who was born Earl Stevens, talking to security at Golden 1 Center before leaving his courtside seats.
The rapper issued a statement telling his side of the events, explaining that after being “subjected to disrespectful heckling” throughout the game, in the fourth quarter he “turned around and addressed one heckler in an assertive but polite manner.”
After that, E-40 said, “Kings security approached me, assumed I instigated the encounter and proceeded to kick me out of the arena.
“Unfortunately, it was yet another reminder that — despite my success and accolades as a musician and entrepreneur — racial bias remains prevalent. Security saw a disagreement between a Black man and a white woman and immediately assumed that I was at fault.”
E-40 has courtside seats at Golden State’s Chase Center next to the Warriors bench, and even joined the team’s contingent when it visited the White House this year to celebrate winning last year’s NBA championship.
The Warriors trail the Kings 1-0 in the first-round series between the two teams with Game 2 Monday night in Sacramento.