Kings' Ranadive: Stephon Clark protest can 'bring people together'

With a heavy heart, Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive addressed the home crowd Thursday night, some 2,000 fans in an otherwise empty arena who had just watched an entirely forgettable 105-90 victory over the cellar-dwelling Atlanta Hawks.

After all, the evening was about much more than basketball.

With burgeoning protests - peaceful, but large-scale - of the killing of 22-year-old Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man, by Sacramento law enforcement earlier this week shutting down Interstate 5 and disrupting entrance to the Golden 1 Center, a decision was made to bar further entry to the game due to concerns over crowd safety.

“There’s obviously never a right decision in this type of situation," Ranadive told USA TODAY Sports' Sam Amick. "And, on the one hand, there’s been a life lost and you can’t just go about life in terms of it being business as usual, because it really isn’t. A young man has been killed under these circumstances. But then, on the other hand, you think that maybe this is an opportunity to bring people together.”

Ranadive had started his speech by offering his sincere, emotional condolences to the family of Clark. "On Sunday, we had a horrific, horrific tragedy in our community," he began. "And on behalf of the players, the executives, ownership, and the entire Kings family, I first of all wanted to express our deepest sympathies to the family. What happened was absolutely horrific and we are so very sorry - so very sorry - for your loss."

Despite the sealing of the doors and the consequential sparse crowd, there was still a palpable feeling of emotion all around Golden 1 Center.

"I saw the crowd outside," Ranadive told Amick. "I saw the police standing there. And I had different, complex emotions because I have boys. I have a boy right now, actually, in the military. And I have young boys, and the thought that your boy could be out in the yard and somebody shoots him - how horrific is that?”