Kings’ Barnes treats 100 Boys & Girls Club kids, families to dinner at KJ’s new restaurant
Thanksgiving came early for 100 Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Sacramento youth and family members Monday night when Kings forward Harrison Barnes and his wife Brittany hosted them for a complimentary dinner at Fixins Soul Kitchen.
Children and their parents enjoyed fried chicken, fried catfish, salad, fries, mac and cheese, collard greens, cornbread muffins, cookies and red velvet cupcakes at the three-month-old Oak Park restaurant owned by former Phoenix Suns All-Star and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson.
Each kid went home with a bag full of signed Kings paraphernalia and other goodies, while a few nominated by the Boys & Girls Clubs received an autographed Barnes jersey.
Barnes called Johnson “a good friend of mine” and said their basketball connection helped solidify his choice to host the event there. The two met through mutual friends affiliated with UC Berkeley, where Johnson attended college.
“He’s a great guy, and he’s obviously doing well for himself,” Barnes said.
Johnson’s mayoral tenure was full of highs and lows. He played a major role in keeping the Kings in Sacramento, but an ESPN documentary detailing those efforts was shelved after molestation accusations from his playing career resurfaced. He mostly laid low after leaving office in 2016 until investing in Fixins and neighboring Oak Park Brewing Co., both of which opened this year. Johnson was nowhere to be seen Monday night.
The dinner at Fixins capped a generous swing by Kings players. Richaun Holmes donated 150 pairs of shoes to women associated with WEAVE on Monday morning, and players including Marvin Bagley III and Trevor Ariza served 200 underprivileged Sacramento kids and family members at Golden 1 Center earlier in the evening.
Barnes grew up participating in the Boys & Girls Club in Ames, Iowa and has held events with local clubs since he attended the University of North Carolina. The seventh overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, he hosted similar events in the Bay Area while playing for the Golden State Warriors and paid to have a local club’s basketball court rebuilt while with the Dallas Mavericks.
Barnes has also been an outspoken critic of police brutality; he supported protest efforts in Stephon Clark’s name and paid for the funeral of Atatiana Jackson, shot in her own home by a Fort Worth police officer earlier this year. Nicknamed “The Senator,” he has advocated for voter registration and has indicated interest in running for political office once his playing career is over.
Traded to the Kings midway through the 2018-19 season and signed to a four-year, $85 million contract in the offseason, Barnes is averaging 14.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game through the first 12 games of this season.
This story was originally published November 19, 2019 at 3:39 PM.