The Sacramento Kings and the Boston Celtics took the court on Sunday wearing black T-shirts supporting Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man who was shot and killed in his own Sacramento backyard last week. The shirts bear two phrases: “Accountability. We are one.” on the front, and “#StephonClark” on the back.
Kings, Celtics wore T-shirts with Stephon Clark’s name while warming up
Clark was a Sacramento man who was killed by police last week despite being unarmed in his own backyard.
Three days ago, hundreds of protestors blocked the entrance to the Kings’ Golden 1 Center, causing the game to be played in front of just a couple thousand fans. On Sunday, in an effort led by the Kings’ Garrett Temple, both teams wore a message promoting unity and police accountability.
The Celtics also wore the shirts, as can be seen here, something that their head coach Brad Stevens would be a decision made by the players.
Both teams also participated in a PSA video that aired during the game, featuring 17 players from the two teams. You can view it here.
Clark was a 22-year-old who was fatally shot at 20 times by police on March 18 when they mistook his cell phone for a weapon. Police officers were allegedly responded to reports of a man breaking car windows in the area near Clark’s grandparent’s house, where he had been staying. You can read more about Clark’s death and the ensuing protests here.
The shooting quickly gained attention from Black Lives Matters and other activists and organizations dedicated to holding police responsible, which led to Thursday’s protests outside Golden 1 Center and now these messages from the Kings and Celtics.
In wake of the on-field protests that swept the NFL, when players knelt during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial injustice, the NBA released a memo to teams that recommended ways to support community activism while reminding them of a league rule that enforced players standing during the anthem.
According to USA TODAY’s Sam Amick, the league was made aware of and supported the Kings’ plans to support the message of unity on Sunday. However, we’ve also seen that message co-opted by teams to offer generic support with no clear meaning, or one that has changed from the original one.
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