How Sacramento Kings Management Condones Violence Against Women

February 1, 2017

To the Sacramento Kings Management & Ownership:

Your continuous excusing of violence against women perpetrated by your players is outrageous and must end immediately.

The fact is, the Sacramento Kings represent Sacramento and its fans. When you travel, you carry the name of our city. And if the Kings players, management, and ownership condone acts of violence committed against women (and any other community), your actions reverberate throughout our community and the nation. Not only are you telling the thousands of kids who worship the team that hitting women is okay, but you are showing the rest of the world that professional sports players can get away with anything.

Here is a refresher on the Kings’ track record.

Matt Barnes: 
Matt Barnes turned himself in to New York City police for choking and knocking out a woman in a New York nightclub in early December. Since the incident, we still haven’t heard any statement issued by the Kings, nor of any consequences for his act of violence. Barnes was hired by the Kings in 2016 while being famous for having a history riddled by domestic violence and anger issues (for more info, click here). He has been repeatedly arrested for such issues and once drove 95 miles to beat up his estranged wife’s boyfriend.

Barnes was hired by the Kings in 2016 while being famous for having a history riddled by domestic violence and anger issues. He has been repeatedly arrested on domestic violence issues (read more on this here), and once drove 95 miles to beat up his estranged wife’s boyfriend (article here).

Darren Collison:
Collison was arrested and charged for domestic violence in 2016 (read article here and here). What was the consequence? Oh right, an 8 game suspension. Professional basketball players get a 5 game suspension for getting caught smoking marijuana for the third time.

LET THAT SINK IN FOR A MINUTE.

Ty Lawson:
On one incident in 2013, he was arrested and faced charges for harassment against his then-pregnant girlfriend (read more here).

On another incident, again in 2013, Lawson was charged with physical assault during a domestic violence dispute. A restraining order was issued against him on behalf of his girlfriend (details here). He had been playing for the Denver Nuggets at the time. What was his teammate’s response? 

‘Wilson Chandler, Lawson’s teammate with the Nuggets, said Monday night  on Twitter:
“Young Ty trying to get that street cred up lol.”’ 

Ty Lawson joined the Kings in 2016, management having full knowledge of his history of domestic abuse.

I ask you this: is this the type of culture we want to support as a community? Is this the kind of team Sacramento wants, or deserves? Three out of the 12 players on the current Kings roster have been charged for violence against women. That is one quarter of our team.

Sacramento: is this what we stand for?

This is absolutely unacceptable and I expect the Kings management and ownership to make the first step to remedy this situation by adopting a moral turpitude policy that empowers the ownership and management to fire a Kings member with domestic violence charges filed against him**.

What you currently represent is not what I stand for as an individual being part of this community and as a fan of the Sacramento Kings. I expect a team which represents me and my community to have standards, and show that there are consequences for physically assaulting women (or men). Professional sports players must be held accountable, just like anyone else in our community.

I call for the immediate firing of Matt Barnes, Darren Collison, and Ty Lawson.

Now who’s with me?
Want to make your voice heard?

  • Call the Kings: 916 - 701 - 5400

  • Email the Kings: kings@kings.com

  • Tweet at the Kings: @SacramentoKings

  • Write to the Kings: Golden One Center
                                    500 David J Stern Walk
                                    Sacramento, CA 95814

Don’t have the time/know what to write in your letter? Here’s our template letter. 
Print, sign, and send it!

  • Do all of the above! Let’s hold the Sacramento Kings accountable.

Candice Riley
Fem Dems of Sacramento Board Member

 

**Being charged with domestic violence is a legal accusation. However, the instances of false accusations are so low, that the Kings ownership should have the authority, and are urged to, break contracts with charged players in instances like those illustrated above.