Rapper E-40 affirms he suffered racial bias after being ejected from Kings vs. Warriors playoff matchup

The Kings administration is currently investigating allegations from rapper E-40, a San Francisco hip-hop artist who claims that he suffered racial bias that led him to being ejected from Game 1 of the Conference playoff series between Sacramento and Golden State. 

The musician released a statement saying that he was taunted throughout the match on Saturday night and says that he responded politely to one of the hecklers, before security guards approached him and told him he had to leave the arena.

Take a look at the incident right as he’s leaving the stadium and judge it yourselves:

Rapper E-40 gets kicked out of Kings-Warriors game 👀 pic.twitter.com/XTUQPV147Q

— FootBasket™.com (@FootBasket) April 16, 2023

“Unfortunately, it was yet another reminder that — despite my success and accolades as a musician and entrepreneur — racial bias remains prevalent,” the artist wrote in a statement. “Security saw a disagreement between a Black man and a white woman and immediately assumed that I was at fault.”

The rapper added how humiliating this was, saying that the experience was “jarring”. The Kings, on the other hand, have announced that they are investigating the context behind his ejection.

“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 administration released in a statement.

“E-40 was standing excessively and repeatedly blocking the view of guests behind him,” the Kings said. “After receiving multiple complaints, he was given a warning and refused to comply. There was a multiprong effort by Kings and Warriors security teams to deal with the situation, escort him from his seat, and avoid further disruption.”

One person who witnessed the situation told the press that E-40 really was standing and blocking the view of fans sitting behind him, and was given many warnings after the crowd’s complaints. The witness preffered to maintain his condition of anonymity as these details hadn’t been released to the public, and added that the rapper simply refused to comply.

After this, another person who was also familiar to the situation actually said the opposite. Also speaking on condition of anonymity, he told the press that the artist never recieved a warning from any security guard about standing excessively.

The rapper is a prominent Warriors fan and even the players love him

E-40 is such a strong Golden State supporter that he even was part of the delegation that visited the White House at the beginning of the season.

“It’s unfortunate,” said Warriors star Klay Thompson. “I love 40. He’s been our biggest supporter for years. I hope they right that ship because he deserves to be there by our bench. In my time knowing him, he’s always been respectful. He’s always been considerate of those around him. Very weird to see, and I hope it’s resolved.”

The artist is one of the most prominent music artists to emerge from the Bay Area scene, even credited to have introduced a subculture style of hip hop that grew in the decade of the 90s, and is now known to the world after his track “My Ghetto Report Card” produced by Lil Jon back in 2006.

However, the rapper is still well-known and making the music headlines, as he was recently teamed up with icons like Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg in the group Mount Westmore to release an album and play important shows like the BottleRock Napa Valle music festival.