Team Removes T-Shirts with Monkey on Them on First Day of Black History Month
Jason Jones, Sacramento Bee, February 1, 2016
If you were at Sleep Train Arena about 90 minutes before tipoff Monday night, you would have thought the Kings were handling major laundry duty.
Before fans entered for the game against the Milwaukee Bucks, T-shirts that were placed on every seat to celebrate the Lunar New Year were being collected and put in large piles. The shirts had a monkey on the front because this is the year of the monkey.
The shirts became an issue because they were to be distributed on the first day of Black History Month, when NBA players and coaches wear commemorative shirts.
“We all need a lesson in sensitivity,” Kings president Chris Granger said. “In an effort to celebrate Chinese New Year, we had some concerns about the T-shirt giveaway, so we pulled them all before the doors opened. Certainly we don’t want to offend anybody, and we acted as soon as we heard the concern.”
Center DeMarcus Cousins was one of the first people to raise concern with team officials, and soon thereafter, the shirts were collected.
{snip}
