New Orleans Pelicans superstar DeMarcus Cousins, who previously played for the Sacramento Kings, has reportedly offered to help the family of Stephon Clark pay for his funeral expenses.
Clark, 22, was shot 20 times and killed by the Sacramento Police Department while he was unarmed and holding a cell phone in his grandparents’ backyard on Sunday.
The family set up a GoFundMe campaign with the hope of raising $50,000 for funeral and burial expenses.
Cousins, who will miss the remainder of the season for the Pelicans due to a ruptured Achilles, played for the Kings from 2010 until February 2017. He was very active in the community throughout his time with the Kings and, considering this amazing gesture, he still has obvious ties to the city.
The news that the former No. 5 overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft reached out to the Clark family to pay for his funeral comes just a day after hundreds of protesters blocked all access to the Golden 1 Center on Thursday evening.
The game was delayed and thousands of fans were reportedly sent home.
Sacramento guard Garrett Temple offered his support for the protesters (via Sacramento Bee):
“If I didn’t have a job to do, I’d probably be out there with them, peacefully protesting because what’s going on has to stop. It has to stop.”
Others around the league, including Los Angeles Lakers rookie Kyle Kuzma, have tweeted about the horrific events that took Clark’s life.
