It was announced on Tuesday that the Sacramento Kings elected to fine DeMarcus Cousins for an altercation with a Sacramento Bee reporter that was caught on video.
The Kings big man has since released a statement about the incident, per The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears:
Statement from Kings center DeMarcus Cousins: https://t.co/S2IxsOahoD pic.twitter.com/IHaPw5HAnf
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) December 20, 2016
It’s important to remember that writers are not above player critique. We are all guilty, to some extent, of forgetting these NBA players are people, with families and feelings. There will be things that set them off, and they have the right to display displeasure for something that was written or said about them—especially if it’s a situation where they’ve had multiple encounters with a particular columnist.
But that doesn’t make Cousins’ behavior okay. His reaction was over the the top. If he wanted to talk to the reporter in question, or even flat-out yell at him, he shouldn’t have done it so publicly and while borderline invading the dude’s personal space.
There was nothing for Cousins to gain from reacting like that, particularly after a victory. Just as some writers are paid to give opinions that others won’t like, Cousins is paid to be in the public eye. And as a result, his unofficial job description includes handling issues like this with a little more tact, no matter how pissed or upset or even in the right he might be.
