Less than an hour before the Sacramento Kings were set to tip off against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Golden 1 Center on March 11, the game was canceled because it was discovered that one of the game’s officials, Courtney Kirkland, had worked a Utah Jazz game and, earlier in the day, Jazz center Rudy Gobert had tested positive for COVID-19, or the coronavirus. So, the players from both teams were sent home, as were the fans that paid for a ticket to be in the building to see the Kings take on Zion Williamson and the Pelicans.
Among the fans in attendance that day was Sophie White.
You may not know the name, but there’s a good chance you’ve seen the heartbreaking video of White, who was devastated to learn that the game wasn’t going to on go on as scheduled.
Little girl at postponed Kings game crying…appears to say 'This is my first game" while hugging her dad. pic.twitter.com/qgVMN77mSk
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) March 12, 2020
No one knows exactly when White will get the chance to see a game at the Golden 1 Center, but when the time comes, White and her family will have tickets waiting for them at the box office courtesy of Harry Giles III, the Kings announced in an Instagram post on Thursday.
It also appears Giles sent them some swag, which is awesome, but if you look closely in the video, it looks like Sophie is actually wearing a Pelicans jersey. Maybe she’s a really big DeMarcus Cousins fan? Either way, she has a Kings jersey now thanks to Giles.
The other part of this that’s a little funny is the fact that Giles might not even be in Sacramento the next time the Kings play. While the hope is that the Kings will be able to play out the rest of their regular season schedule, there’s a growing possibility that the season will pick up at the first game of the postseason, and the Kings are currently slotted at the No. 11 seed. If Giles isn’t a King the next time Sophie gets to go to a game, I hope Vlade Divac is the one that has to explain to her why.
All jokes aside, this is a really nice gesture from the Kings, and a good way to ensure they have a new lifelong Kings fans. Hopefully Sofie — in addition to everyone else — doesn’t have to wait too long for her chance to see the Kings play again.
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