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Kings Announce “Team Up for Change” – a New Partnership with Milwaukee Bucks to Bring Two Cities Together to Address Social Injustice Featuring Hip Hop Icon Big Boi

– Additional Speakers Include NBA Owners, NBA Executives and Leaders from Sacramento and Milwaukee –– Teams Jointly Release Video Highlighting Recent Events in Their Cities –

The Sacramento Kings will host “Team Up for Change” with the Milwaukee Bucks – a daylong summit convened to address social injustice presented by Kaiser Permanente. The summit will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at Golden 1 Center beginning at 9:00 AM, before the Kings take on the Bucks that evening. Seven-time GRAMMY® award-winning rapper, songwriter and producer Big Boi – best known for being a member of American hip hop duo Outkast alongside André 3000 – will keynote the summit and perform during halftime. Antwan "Big Boi" Patton is committed to using his platform to help young people in underserved communities through his Big Kidz Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to developing socially conscious youth.

The innovative partnership, led by the Kings, aims to unite, inspire and activate community leaders, law enforcement and youth advocates from Sacramento and Milwaukee by highlighting local and national perspectives from innovators and trusted experts who are advocates for social justice and equality. With a focus on the intersection between sports, race and the pursuit of more equitable communities, “Team Up for Change” seeks to serve as a model for how sports teams can address issues of injustice in their respective cities.

“We believe it is our responsibility to use our platform to make the world a better place starting right here with our communities,” saidSacramento Kings Owner and Chairman Vivek Ranadivé. “Basketball has the power to bring people together by bridging racial, gender and economic divides. Through the ‘Team Up for Change’ effort we are committed to continuing to work with the community to support and encourage collective action for change.”

“We’re proud to work with the Kings to bring both our communities together to identify creative solutions to the challenging issues we face,” said Milwaukee Bucks Co-Owner Marc Lasry. “Our two organizations are dedicated to sparking real action through candid and open discussions and the ‘Team Up for Change’ initiative will make an important impact as we strive to make a difference.”

The “Team Up for Change” program will include engaging speakers and a “Breaking Bread” luncheon – featuring a keynote conversation with Big Boi – all designed to lift up voices working towards meaningful outcomes that encourage positive change. The full program will be livestreamed on the Kings Facebook page to allow the Milwaukee community and others across the nation to experience the summit virtually. “Team Up for Change” speakers, subject to change, include (in alphabetical order):

  • Berry Accius, Founder, Voice of The Youth
  • Antwan "Big Boi" Patton, recording artist and Founder & CEO, Big Kidz Foundation
  • Carroll Bogert, President, The Marshall Project
  • Amy Brooks, President, Team Marketing & Business Operations and Chief Innovation Officer, NBA
  • Doug Christie, Color Analyst, Sacramento Kings
  • Chief Daniel Hahn, Sacramento Police Department
  • Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton, City of Milwaukee
  • Chet P. Hewitt, President & CEO, Sierra Health Foundation
  • Sam Jacobs, Founder, Works in Progress Fund
  • Cassandra Jennings, CEO, Greater Sacramento Urban League
  • N'Gina Kavoojian, Owner, South
  • Kida the Great, Season 13 Winner, So You Think You Can Dance
  • Matina Kolokotronis, Chief Operating Officer, Sacramento Kings
  • Marc Lasry, Co-owner, Milwaukee Bucks
  • Vivek Ranadivé, Owner and Chairman, Sacramento Kings
  • Sacramento Area Youth Speaks (SAYS)
  • Sol Development
  • Pastor Les Simmons, South Sacramento Christian Center
  • Renata Simril, President & CEO, LA84 Foundation
  • Mark Thomsen, Attorney for Sterling Brown
  • Mayor Michael Tubbs, City of Stockton
  • Dr. Torry Winn, Co-founder & Co-director, Transformative Justice in Education Center, UC Davis

In the evening, the game will feature a halftime performance by Big Boi, video tributes to significant Black history moments and a showcase featuring Black-owned businesses. The Kings Foundation will also present the Build.Black Coalition with a Dream All-Star Award in-game for their efforts to bring about positive impacts throughout the Sacramento region. Over 100 local youth will also be in attendance for the game and will have an opportunity to interact with the summit speakers and executives from both the Kings and Bucks in a pre-game meet and greet.

“Team Up for Change” is an extension of the Kings commitment to #DoGood by giving back, engaging the community in conversation and lifting up the work of local leaders, public officials and others working to change Sacramento for the better. In March 2018, the Sacramento community was saddened by the tragic death of Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man. Kings Owner Vivek Ranadivé, heard the cries for action, took to the court and made a commitment that the Kings, who strongly believe in the power of sports to bring people together, would work alongside the community to help prevent future tragedies. The Kings entered a multi-year partnership with the Build.Black. Coalition to help the community heal and proactively invest in Black youth. Kings players and staff have participated in youth healing forums, STEM education workshops and a co-ed youth basketball league, Kings and Queens Rise, all focused on using sport as an agent for change. Last month, the team announced that the highly successful Kings and Queens Rise would return for a second season this summer. These community efforts have been recognized with the 2019 NBA Inclusion Innovation Award and the Robert T. Matsui Community Service Award.

In May 2018, the Milwaukee Bucks expressed support for guard Sterling Brown, who was tased and arrested in relation to a parking violation. The franchise committed to work with local leaders and organizations to foster safe neighborhoods and better the community. To promote dialogue, the Bucks partnered with the City of Milwaukee, Safe & Sound and Running Rebels to host an interactive “Face-to-Face” community conversation that paired up adults with ten formerly incarcerated or system-involved youth for a facilitated conversation about life, overcoming challenges and the relationship between law enforcement and young people in Milwaukee.

Today, the Kings and Bucks jointly released a video highlighting these recent events in Sacramento and Milwaukee featuring players both teams.

This effort is a part of NBA Voices, the NBA’s initiative to address social injustice, promote inclusion, uplift voices and bridge divides in our communities. It represents another step in the league’s ongoing work to bring people together and use the game of basketball to demonstrate the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion. Using the power of community conversations, mentoring and our game, NBA Voices has brought together NBA and WNBA teams, players, legends, fans and community partners to support more than 600 programs, events and initiatives in more than 35 cities nationwide.

Kaiser Permanente, which cares for more than 860,000 members in the Greater Sacramento area, is recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. An important part of Kaiser Permanente's mission is to improve the health of the communities it serves, which includes partnering with other like-minded organizations and initiatives that advocate for social justice and equality, particularly in underserved communities.