Bay Area Rap Legend Gets the Boot Amid Warriors’ Game 1 Collapse

Getty Rapper E-40 yells at security personnel during Game 1 of the Golden State Warriors' first-round playoff series against the Sacramento Kings.

While the Golden State Warriors felt they played well enough to steal Game 1 of their first-round playoff series away from the Sacramento Kings, Steph Curry and his crew ultimately faltered down the stretch on Saturday night. The Kings managed to outscore the Dubs 50-37 over the game’s final 15 minutes, paving the way for a 126-123 win and going up 1-0 on the defending champs.

However, that wasn’t the only blow the Warriors faithful took during their squad’s postseason opener at Golden 1 Center. Before the game’s final buzzer sounded, Dubs superfan, Bay Area legend and platinum-selling rapper E-40 was escorted from the stands by security.

The 55-year-old later explained in a statement, as relayed by The Athletic’s Shams Charania, that he had been “subjected to disrespectful heckling” over the course of the contest until, finally, he addressed one of the responsible parties in an “assertive but polite manner” during the fourth quarter. From there, though, he was confronted by security and, ultimately, removed from the event.

E-40 cited racial bias as having played a role in his ejection.

“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 that I was at fault,” the rapper stated.

The Facts of Rapper E-40’s Expulsion From the Warriors-Kings Playoff Bout Are in Dispute

As reported by Andscape’s Marc Spears in the wake of the incident, members of Golden 1 Center’s security team believe that they were justified in removing E-40 from his seat.

Citing NBA sources, Spears noted that security had given E-40 a warning “after many complaints” stating that he had blocked the view of fans behind him by standing “excessively.” After refusing to comply, there was said to be “an effort by Kings & Warriors security to escort him out without further distraction.”

However, a source close to E-40 told Spears that no warning for standing excessively was ever issued.

In any case, the Kings and their owner, Vivek Ranadive — himself a known advocate for social justice and racial equality — have vowed to investigate the incident and E-40’s claims of discrimination.

“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 team said in a statement, via Spears.

Warriors’ Klay Thompson Snubbed From ESPN Playoff Rankings

Ahead of the Warriors’ Game 1 loss to the Kings, the folks over at ESPN dropped their ranking of the top 25 players participating in this year’s NBA Playoffs. Unsurprisingly, Curry landed near the top of the list at No. 4 overall, just behind No. 1 Giannis Antetokounmpo, No. 2 Kevin Durant and No. 3 Joel Embiid.

Conspicuous by his absence, however, was Curry’s co-star and fellow Splash Bro, Klay Thompson, who was left off of the list entirely.

Thompson is coming off of a regular season that saw him average 21.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per contest while connecting on 41.2% of his attempts from three-point range. He scored 21 points and added six rebounds, five assists and a steal during the Warriors’ Game 1 loss.