Celtics, Kings Players Urge 'Accountability' After Unarmed Man Killed By Police
SACRAMENTO (CBS/AP) – Celtics players wore shirts during warm-ups in solidarity with the Kings after an unarmed black man was shot 20 times and killed by police last week in Sacramento.
Players from both teams took the floor for warm-ups with t-shirts that said "Accountability. We are one." on the front and #StephonClark on the back.
Stephon Clark, 22, died in a hail of police gunshots March 18 in the darkened backyard of the home where he had been staying with his grandparents. Police say they thought he was pointing a handgun but they found only a cellphone nearby.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said his team would follow the lead of the Kings before Sunday's game.
"Obviously it's been a really tough week here, and we were paying attention to that," Stevens said, via NBA.com. "We just wanted to play a small part, since we were coming to town, in things that we've talked about that are really important to our team and our locker room."
Kings and Celtics players also joined forces for a public service announcement that played inside the arena during the game.
Sunday's game marks the first contest in Sacramento since an eventful Friday night contest. The game between the Kings and Atlanta Hawks started about 20 minutes late and was played before about 2,000 fans in the 17,000-seat arena due to demonstrations outside the arena.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
