Bay Area Rapper E40 ejected from Kings-Warriors playoff game

SACRAMENTO — Bay Area Rapper E40, a loyal Golden State fan, was ejected Saturday night from Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center after a verbal altercation with fans during Game 1 of the NBA first round Western Conference showdown between the Kings and Warriors.

Emotions ran high all night in the arena during the first playoff meeting ever between the two teams separated by 90 miles lived up to the hype and delighted the raucous crowd that had been waiting for a post-season game since 2006.

During the national television broadcast a smiling E40 was shown along with other luminaries in the crowd. But things, apparently got ugly as the teams battled in the contest eventually won by the Kings 126-123.

In a statement he released, the rapper claims to have been targeted by heckling that grew more heated as the game unfolded.

“On Saturday night, I was subjected to disrespectful heckling over the course of the Kings-Warriors game in Sacramento. During the fourth quarter I finally turned around and addressed on heckler in an assertive but polite manner. Yet, shortly thereafter Kings security approached me, assumed that I instigated the encounter and proceeded to kick me 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 I was at fault.”

There was no word on Sunday morning from arena officials about the incident. But there was plenty of commentary on social media.