A protest briefly interrupted the Game 1 of the Grizzlies vs. Timberwolves first round playoff series on Saturday as a woman chained herself to the basket stanchion with under five minutes remaining in the second quarter.
The protester wore a shirt that read “Glen Taylor Roasts Animals Alive” and threw flyers on the court. Players were seen picking them up as security dealt with the situation.
Fans were asked to remain in their seats as security worked on cutting the chain. Commentators said they were told she had been there for a while, but security hadn’t noticed. The game resumed shortly after she was carried out.
Direct Action Everywhere, an international grassroots network of animal rights activists, shared a press release on Twitter soon after the incident confirming this woman was part of the same group as a previous interruption seen during the Timberwolves vs. Clippers game at Target Center less than a week ago. That woman, wearing the same t-shirt, had attempted to glue her hand on the court during the second quarter of the play-in tournament game. Security also removed her immediately and the situation did not escalate further than that.
The group said this protest was part on an ongoing efforts to get majority owner of the Timberwolves Glen Taylor to step down and return factory farm bailout money. Rembrandt Enterprises, a factory egg farm in Iowa owned by Taylor, saw a mass killing of chickens due to a bird flu outbreak in March.
