Sacramento

As E-40 taught us, everybody’s got choices. The Sacramento Kings chose to eject the Bay Area rapper from the April 15 game against E-40’s hometown Golden State Warriors, and now they’ve released a joint statement addressing the incident.

E-40 made the trek to Sacramento to enjoy courtside seats at the Warriors’ game against the Kings only to be kicked out by security after a verbal altercation with a woman whom E-40 referred to as a heckler in his section. “Security saw a disagreement between a Black man and a White woman and immediately assumed that I was at fault,” he wrote in his initial statement, attributing the incident to “racial bias.”

Now, the Kings have released a joint statement with the rapper, born Earl Stevens, setting the record straight. “After a series of thoughtful and transparent conversations, both parties agree that there was a miscommunication regarding the circumstances that occurred during the Kings vs. Warriors game on Saturday night,” the statement begins.

“Contrary to speculation, Mr. Earl ‘E-40’ Stevens did not stand excessively from his ticketed courtside seat; the outcome resulted from an unfortunate misunderstanding between both parties. The Kings will continue to equitably enforce the NBA Fan Code of Conduct to ensure guests can comfortably enjoy games free of disrespectful heckling and other disruptive conduct. The organization has been a longtime leader in promoting social justice and racial equality with a track record of measurable results and community impacts. Mr. Stevens has previously attended games at Golden 1 Center without incident, and the Kings look forward to welcoming him back to our arena in the future.”

Following E-40’s ejection, the rapper received an outpouring of support, with the Philadelphia 76ers, the Warriors and TNT’s Inside the NBA playing his songs during games and programming. Jalen Rose also posted a video addressing the matter and demanding an apology from the Kings.

E-40 called the experience “jarring” in his initial statement. On Thursday, he released his latest single, “Front Row 40,” which a source told Complex was recorded months ago and was slated to drop “during the Warriors’ postseason.”