Players from the Sacramento Kings and Boston Celtics have teamed up to push for police accountability following the death of Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man shot and killed by Sacramento police officers.
A public service announcement featuring players from both teams aired during their Sunday matchup.
Accountability. We Are One. #StephonClark pic.twitter.com/123y5etYdE
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) March 25, 2018
Kings players also wore custom warmup shirts that called for unity and accountabiltiy on the front and had Clark's name in the back.
We must unite. #StephonClark pic.twitter.com/D9rYNiSqVO
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) March 25, 2018
MORE: Images of athletes taking political stances
Clark, 22, was shot 20 times in his grandmother's back yard by Sacramento officers when his phone was confused for a firearm. Protests broke out the Thursday after the incident in Sacramento. Demonstrators marched from City Hall to the Golden 1 Center and barricaded the arena's entrances prior to the Kings' game against the Hawks, delaying tipoff and preventing thousands from getting into the arena.
After the game, Kings owner Vivek Ranadive addressed the crowd, calling the shooting "horrific" and saying the team would use its platform for positive change.
"It's something that I think we can use our platform, like Vivek said, to support and try to create change," guard Garrett Temple told the Sacramento Bee after Thursday's game. "Because no matter how you look at it, these things have to stop, one way or another. Us being on the national stage, we have a way to try to push our support towards change, and we're going to try to do that."
NBA players have used their warmup shirts to advocate for change in the past, from 2014's "I can't breathe" shirts to remember Eric Garner — who died after a chokehold was applied to him by New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo — to Saturday when Ben Simmons wore a March for Our Lives shirt.
Athlete protests have faced harsher levels of scrutiny outside the Association. Former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick — who protested police brutality and racial inequality by kneeling during the national anthem throughout the 2016 season — has been called out by President Donald Trump and has filed a collusion lawsuit against the NFL after going unsigned as a free agent in 2017.