Rapper E-40 says “racial bias” is to blame for his ejection from an NBA playoff game in California on Saturday night.
Video footage posted to social media showed the rapper, whose real name is Earl Tywone Stevens Sr., standing courtside while speaking with who appeared to be security officials before leaving Golden 1 Center, where the home team Sacramento Kings went on to defeat the Golden State Warriors 126-123 in game one of their first-round matchup.
In a statement, E-40 said he was “subjected to disrespectful heckling,” and during the fourth quarter, he “turned around and addressed one heckler in an assertive but polite manner.”
Same!!!! I got a vid pic.twitter.com/OYstXbZb9O
— Jordan (@BabyBoyJord) April 16, 2023
The Bay Area rapper, who has also made headlines for his business ventures, including an ice cream line, said security personnel approached him shortly afterward, “assumed” he “instigated” the encounter, and proceeded to kick him 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 said.
There are conflicting accounts about what was said between E-40 and security personnel.
Marc Spears, a senior writer for Andscape, cited NBA sources in tweeting that security officials “believed E-40 stood excessively thus blocking the view of fans behind him, refused to comply after a warning was given after many complaints and there was an effort by Kings & Warriors security to escort him out without further distraction.”
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A source “close to E-40 says a warning was never given by Golden 1 security for standing excessively,” Spears added in another tweet.
E-40 said he was “absolutely humiliated” by the King’s security team and called for an investigation.
The Kings are doing just that.
“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 in a statement, according to ESPN.
E-40 said he is “truly grateful for my fans and supporters who have reached out to express their concern and disappointment regarding these disheartening circumstances.” The rapper concluded his statement, saying, “I hope those involved are held accountable for their behavior.”