Sacramento Kings Pull 'Year Of The Monkey' Shirts On First Day Of Black History Month
By Kyle Buis
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The Sacramento Kings scrapped plans for a T-shirt giveaway at the last-minute on Monday after DeMarcus Cousins reportedly objected to them.
The shirts were part of the Sacramento Kings' celebration of the Lunar New Year in February. The shirts depicted a purple monkey symbolizing the year of the monkey in the Chinese New Year in the team's color.
The giveaway seems to have been unfortunately planned as Monday was the first day of Black History Month. Referring to African-Americans as monkeys or lower forms of primates has been considered racist, and a shirt with a monkey on the first day of Black History Month appears to have raised concerns in a league that is predominantly African-American.
Teams across the NBA are looking for ways to reach out to a growing Chinese middle class as the league tries to expand its borders. Part of that outreach includes events around the Lunar New Year, like the ones the Kings tried on Monday.
The Golden State Warriors' approach doesn't prominently involve a monkey and instead is a reimagining of the team's logo with Chinese characters added inside the team's circular logo.
The Kings decided relatively late in the night to make the change as the shirts were laid out in the arena, then removed shortly before fans entered Sleep Train Arena on Monday. Milwaukee Bucks analyst Marques Johnson said Kings star DeMarcus Cousins voiced his disapproval.
After the game, Kings President Chris Granger said there were concerns the shirts could be offensive, so the team opted to be cautious and remove them.
