What the Kings do next with protesters will be eye-opening

For the second time in three home games, the Sacramento Kings closed the doors of Golden1 Arena because of protests surrounding the police shooting death of an unarmed black man, Stephon Clark. And for the second time, the Kings did so without complaint, understanding that their game with the Dallas Mavericks took on secondary importance to the greater issues in the city.
 
But with Indiana coming to town to play Thursday night, both the Kings and the protest organizers have a decision to make, namely the depth and breadth of the franchise’s support for a cause that they support but that harms them financially in the short term.
 
In other words, Vivek Ranadive, who has won praise for his handling of the protests that have reduced his crowds from their standard 17,583 to first 1,500 against Atlanta and then around 4,000 Tuesday night, may start asking, “Uhh, can we do this somewhere else now?”
 
Tuesday’s protest, which began at a city council meeting before moving to the arena, was peaceful, as was the one before the Atlanta game last Thursday. It gained national attention, as most effective protests do, and the city as a whole knows the name Stephon Clark. In addition, California attorney general Xavier Becerra has stepped in to head the investigation into the shooting.

In sum, the protests have been important and successful in the short run (the long run is a more tranquil and less violent city), so the question, at least for the Kings, becomes “What can we do to continue to be of help that doesn’t actually impact our gate?” And maybe the answer they get is, “When this is done.”
 
To be sure, their pain is not the community’s pain, to be sure, let alone that of the Clark family. We are speaking small cost to the Kings for a big issue in the town in which they work. In a debate between a full house for a basketball game and the mental and psychic health of a city, there is no debate to be had.
 
But we suspect there will be a meeting or two between Ranadive and the protest leaders, particularly given the fact that after Indiana, the final two home games will be with Golden State and Houston. The results of those chats will be fascinating, especially for those folks who still cling to the flat-earth notion of “stick to sports.”