DeMarcus Cousins to Pay for Funeral of Slain Grant HS Football Player

Last night it was announced and/or leaked that DeMarcus Cousins would be paying for the funeral of Jaulon Clavo, a Grant High School football player who was shot and killed on his way to a football game Friday night.

CBS Sacramento’s Lemor Abrams wrote that DeMarcus Cousins called Clavo’s family personally to offer his help and support.

From the ABC News 10 Report –

Cousins wanted his donation to remain anonymous, but Sacramento City Council member Rick Jennings announced it Saturday night at a candlelight vigil on Saturday night.

Often spotted attending local high school sporting events, Cousins was often seen roaming the sidelines during Grant Pacer football games.

Clavo was shot while driving a car with four other football players to a team meeting when a suspect(s) opened fire on their car at Mabel Street and Silver Eagle Road. Two of the players in the car were hit, including the driver who later died, and Malik Johnson. He was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive.

This is, admittedly, a tough series of events for me to recap, partly because the subject matter is much bigger than basketball, and also because I can’t really provide the best context or commentary on Friday nights event, being that I’m not really from the area.

Regardless of how difficult talking about something like this can be, I do believe that this sort of thing needs to be shared. DeMarcus Cousins did a wonderfully generous and gracious thing here, and he is providing other athletes with the blueprint for how you ingrain yourself into a community. This is not the first time Cousins has offered up his anonymous help this city, and it certainly won't be the last.

If anyone outside of this fan base was wondering why Sacramento is so loyal to Cousins despite how bad the Kings have been throughout his career, this is a massive reason why.