NBA: Protests Cause Empty Arena For Kings-Hawks Game

| Posted on |

Outside protests caused the Atlanta Hawks-Sacramento Kings NBA game to be played in an empty arena.

Even though the Kings are a crummy team, they still pack the house for home games. In fact, they’ve averaged a 100.3-percent capacity for their 35 home games this year. Unfortunately, that number will take a dive after Thursday night’s count gets factored in.

The Kings hosted the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night at Golden 1 Center but played in front of virtually nobody. Fans were not allowed into the game because of a massive protest outside the arena, which also delayed tip-off by 19 minutes. Protestors were rallying because of the fatal police shooting of Stephon Clark.

Scott Marsh, who hosts the Sacramento Kings pre-game show, said in a tweet that it was the “smallest crowd I’ve ever seen to watch an NBA game.” Plus, he noted that there weren’t any of the pre-game traditions normally seen at professional sporting events (starting line-ups, national anthem, etc.).

The outcry came after a video was released of the shooting. Clark, a 22-year-old male, was unarmed at the time. In addition to the arena protest, there were also rallies outside City Hall and on the I-5 Freeway.

After everything went down, the Kings released a statement to fans regarding refunds on their tickets.

The Kings went on to win the game 105-90 behind a career-high 20 points from rookie Justin Jackson.