Listen to the iHeartMedia interview with John Rhinehart, President of Business Operations, talk about how the NBA is encouraging teams to develop programming in four categories: Know the Facts, Acts of Caring, Expand Your Community and NBA Together Live.
The Sacramento Kings are also donating their former Natomas practice facility to be used as a surge field hospital to treat patients with coronavirus.
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Sacramento Kings Launch ‘In This Together’
Using our platform for social good and supporting the community as the world faces the coronavirus pandemic.
To help support our community and fans during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Sacramento Kings today introduced “In This Together,” a new effort to engage and connect through online activations, health awareness, physical and educational activities, business support and more.This initiative is designed to align with the NBA’s league-wide campaign– to help the global NBA community during these unprecedented times.
The NBA is encouraging teams to develop programming in four categories: Know the Facts, Acts of Caring, Expand Your Community and NBA Together Live. To do this,the Sacramento Kings, Stockton Kings, Kings Guard Gaming and Golden 1 Center will join forces, using our digital platforms, community partners and the voices of players, coaches, broadcasters, game-night hosts and more to educate, entertain, provide support and bring acts of kindness or “Kings-ness” to families and fans across our community.
To tip-off these efforts, we debuted a video narrated by the radio voice of the Kings, Gary “The G-man” Gerould which gives a nod to the tremendous spirit of our fans in the face of adversity and shares an uplifting message of togetherness and hope for the future.
We are committed to looking out for one another as we work to get through this together and remain #SacramentoProud. We have already begun to activate, from producing PSAs to donating our food to local schools that need it. But there is always more we can do. Some highlights of what we are already doing and what we will continue to do are outlined below.
KNOW THE FACTS
We know there is a lot of information about COVID-19 floating around. We have always believed it was important to share the most reliable information from public health officials to our fans to help flatten the curve.
We have been using our platforms to amplify the latest news from California public health officials and partners like the American Red Cross Gold Country and Sacramento County to help support our communities during this unprecedented situation. Kings chairman, CEO and ownerVivek Ranadivé, forward Marvin Bagley III and guard Bogdan Bogdanovichave also shared tips for staying healthy and active. And we are working with Golden 1 Credit Union to provide fans with the financial resources and content they need to stay healthy financially.
For additional information, which is updated daily, on how to reduce coronavirus risk visit Know the Facts: Coronavirus, featuring guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO) and health experts.
ACTS OF CARING
We have long believed in using basketball as a platform for social good. Now, more than ever, we are all seeking positive and hopeful inspiration. We are using our platform to connect our families, fans and community by sharing acts of kindness, or as we call it, “Acts of Kings-ness.”
For example, we joined forces with Legends Hospitality to donate nearly 5,000 pounds of prepared and perishable food to the Sacramento Food Bank and theSacramento County Office of Education to help feed individuals in need and families impacted by school closures. We will host a blood-drive with Budweiser, who is working with the Red Cross to set up events across the country.To help keep your home team focused while schools are closed, our partner Xfinity has curated a library of free educational resources for all ages. We have also created fun coloring sheets and downloadable activities in partnership with First 5 California for our youngest Kings fans available for free atKings.com/Together.
And we are going to expand on these community activities to include providing giveaways like signed Kings merchandise to local businesses that are providing essential services to the community.
EXPAND YOUR COMMUNITY
During these times, we are still social, just socially distant, which is why we are doing our part to build community virtually. As Kings employees are now working from home, we are encouraging team members to keep in touch by submitting photos showing how they are “In This Together” as it relates to a specific action – to start we are calling for submissions that show Sacramento Kings, Stockton Kings, Kings Guard Gaming or Golden 1 Center pride while working from home. And fans can join in too, just tag your photo with #InThisTogether for a chance to be featured on our social channels. You can also listen to our “Golden 1 Center Work From Home” Spotify playlist while you work – we plan to update these often and have one for every mood available at Golden1Center.com.
We will begin posting at-home workout videos presented by Nike featuring Kings game night host Katerina Kountouris. And we know parents are eager to give their Jr. Kings something to do, which is why Kings Legend and color analyst Doug Christie, Kings Legend and player development assistant coach Bobby Jackson and Stockton Kings head coach Ty Ellis will be leading at-home basketball drills for kids. Parents deserve to have fun too, so we are working with the 916 Crew to put together at-home dance lessons anyone can join. We hope fans participate and enjoy these opportunities to up their game through free videos available on Kings social channels.
NBA TOGETHER LIVE
We miss our games as much as our fans do. To help ease the pain, Kings fans are reliving the excitement of select Kings “Classic Games” from 2017 to 2020 on NBC Sports California through April 15. We have even recorded some new commentary from Kings forward Harrison Barnes about a select number of games. We will also launch a contest where fan-submitted videos will get Kings broadcaster Grant Napear’s famous “If you don’t like that, you don’t like Kings basketball!” treatment.
We also miss watching world-class talent perform at Golden 1 Center, which is why we are encouraging fans to watchPay It Forward LIVE, a digital concert series from Verizon that will benefit small businesses impacted by COVID-19.
These efforts are just the beginning, and fans are encouraged to visit Kings.com/Together and the organization’s social channels daily for a variety of activations.
The coronavirus public health crisis has created a complicated and fluid situation that transcends sports and entertainment.The Kings have always been one giant, global family, and we are committed to uniting together as we all grapple with the impact of the coronavirus by spreading awareness of the facts, sharing acts of “Kings-ness” and supporting our community as we all work through these tough times.
Kings fans have stood by us through good times and bad, and in the face of uncertainty, we grow ever more resilient. Stay healthy and strong – we will overcome this too. We are “In This Together.”