Thursday night’s Kings-Hawks game at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento was delayed for about 20 minutes due to hundreds of people outside the arena protesting Sunday’s fatal police shooting of Stephon Clark.
The Golden 1 Center doors were then locked, resulting in only a few hundred fans making it into the arena for the game.
Protests outside the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento has delayed the start of the Hawks vs Kings game tonight pic.twitter.com/eB0lOFG2AP
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) March 23, 2018
Confirmation that Kings – Hawks game will take place. Those fans in Golden 1 Center have been allowed to move to seats as close to the court as possible. Those fans outside still are not being allowed in. This game will be started in front of maybe a few hundred fans it appears pic.twitter.com/bZbKazamOT
— Scott Marsh (@scottmarsh1140) March 23, 2018
Entire upper deck of Golden 1 Center is empty. So is Entire section 103 in front of me due to #StephenClark protests in Sacramento pic.twitter.com/NEByVNsTGx
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) March 23, 2018
Protesters now locking arms forming human chain to keep fans from entering game at Golden One Center. pic.twitter.com/2Zp6cqFKp7
— stevelarge (@largesteven) March 23, 2018
The protesters began their march at Sacramento City Hall, moved to the freeway where they stopped traffic, and continued to the Golden 1 Center. The demonstration is in response to Sacramento police fatally shooting 22-year-old Stephon Clark, an unarmed man who was in his grandparents’ backyard and police mistook his cell phone for a handgun.
The Kings released a statement after the game started:
The Sacramento Kings released the following statement regarding tonight’s game:
“Tonight’s game began with a delay. Due to law enforcement being unable to ensure ticketed fans could safely enter the arena, the arena remains closed and we ask fans outside to travel home. We will issue further information soon regarding a refund.”
