Cousins goes beyond basketball with special gift for family of fallen 22-year-old
DeMarcus Cousins spent the first six seasons of his NBA career with the Sacramento Kings, and to say those were some turbulent years would be an understatement.
He openly feuded with coaches, was suspended twice by his own team and was seemingly always among the league leaders in technical fouls.
When he was traded by the Kings to New Orleans early last year, most thought Cousins would put Sacramento in his rear view mirror. Instead, he has kept ties to the city.
That was evident late last week when the Sacramento Bee reported that Cousins offered to pay the funeral expenses for 22-year-old Stephon Clark.
Former Kings DeMarcus Cousins and Matt Barnes offer to pay for #Stephon Clark's funeral https://t.co/mgEIAdMpPZ
— The Sacramento Bee (@sacbee_news) March 24, 2018
Clark was shot and killed by Sacramento police March 18 in his grandparents’ back yard. Police said they believed Clark was armed, but only a cellphone was found near his body.
According to the newspaper, Cousins has a history of outreach in the Sacramento community.
He paid for the funeral of Jaulon Clavo, a high school football player who was shot before a playoff game in 2015. He held free basketball camps at Sacramento High School and bought a new scoreboard for the school’s basketball gym.
Cousins was a regular at high school games and enjoyed being accessible to students, especially at inner-city schools.
The NBA recognized Cousins’ work away from the court last year, awarding him the inaugural Offseason NBA Cares Community Assist Award for his work in Alabama, New Orleans, Sacramento and South Africa.
Boogie has done a lot of charity work and so much for the community in Sacramento. Good man.
— IX ⓋI (@consideratus) March 24, 2018
Cousins has not played since he ruptured his Achillles tendon in January.
Another former King, Matt Barnes, has also offered to help with funeral costs. Barnes, a Sacramento native, was waived by the Kings after Cousins was traded. He announced his retirement from the NBA this season.
“Another pointless killing,” Barnes posted on his Instagram page last week. “This time in my hometown of Sacramento. Who’s gonna be next..? Your brother, son, uncle, dad …?”
The shooting death of Clark has sparked a series of protests across Sacramento over the past week.
On Thursday, protesters blocked the entrance to Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center, preventing thousands of fans from entering the game between the Kings and Atlanta Hawks.
The start of the game was delayed, and authorities eventually decided to lock the doors. Fans who had tickets but had not yet made it into the arena were asked to return home and were to be offered refunds. Eventually, the game was played with approximately 2,000 fans in attendance.
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