In a silent protest against racial and social injustices, all members of the Kings and most members of the Spurs knelt during the national anthem prior to their first games in more than four months.
The Kings and Milwaukee Bucks are expanding their “Team Up for Change” initiative for their 2020 summit. On Thursday morning, the two franchises announced that they have added seven additional teams to the roster, including four NBA squads and another three from the WNBA.
Started in 2019, a year after the officer-involved shooting death of Stephon Clark in Sacramento, the Kings began the program with the intent to “unite, inspire and activate around a shared commitment and call for racial equality and social justice.”
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SIGN UP HERE The Bucks were going through their own situation in Milwaukee when small forward Sterling Brown allegedly was tased repeatedly by Milwaukee police officers during a dispute over a parking violation.
The two franchises joined together in an attempt to open the lines of communication between all the sides who have been impacted, with the hopes of creating change in their communities.
The addition of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, Indiana Pacers and Fever, Dallas Mavericks and Wings, and Cleveland Cavaliers will hopefully help expand the message further.
“On behalf of the entire Kings organization, we are tremendously humbled and proud to grow the Team Up for Change platform, expanding this urgent conversation across the country to address systemic racism,” Sacramento Kings Owner and Chairman Vivek Ranadivé said via the group's official press release. “It is incumbent upon us all to take a stand for justice, equity and equality, and further commit to investing in transformative and sustainable change for our Black communities.”
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According to the release, “through interactive and educational programming, the nine teams will address issues of police accountability, brutality, criminal justice reform, economic empowerment, diversity and inclusion, and civic engagement to propel forward the commitments made to their respective communities.”
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This is the third year on the “Team Up for Change” summit for the Kings and Bucks. It will open up on Oct. 21 with an online discussion before running socially distanced, in-person events from Oct. 22-28 in Sacramento, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Dallas, Indianapolis and Cleveland.
On Oct. 29, the group will launch a nine-part online content series that will be available to the general public.
The Kings have been a leader among professional franchises of not only standing for social equality, but turning their words into actions. The “Stand Up for Change” is just one of their programs aimed at promoting social justice reform, combating systemic racism and pushing for sustainable change in their community and across the country.