New Orleans Pelicans center DeMarcus Cousins just got slapped with a steep fine by the NBA for cursing at opposing fans, and at least one fellow star player disagrees with the heftiness of it.
The league announced on Thursday that Cousins has been fined $50,000 for “directing inappropriate language towards fans on separate occasions.”
DeMarcus Cousins fined $50k for verbally abusing fans.
So, the change of scenery is going well. pic.twitter.com/HazoijeOjz
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) March 9, 2017
Here is the first instance of profanity, which occurred in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers last Sunday, as well as the heckling that led up to it. Beware – this has bad language.
— OSN (@OprahSideNigga) March 6, 2017
That heckler in question is apparently a somewhat famous YouTuber who was likely trying to elicit a reaction from Cousins for the sake of his video.
The second incident occurred the very next night after a loss to the Utah Jazz.
Shortly after news of Cousins’ fine broke on Thursday, Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard took to Twitter to offer his two cents.
Boogie got fined 50k ? For saying something back to a fan? Smh I done had some wild stuff said to me out there…. That's a lot of bread
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) March 9, 2017
For Lillard, who has heard more than his fair share of similar taunts from opposing fans as he alluded to (here’s a notable but significantly tamer example), he can empathize with Cousins. While Cousins’ reputation likely precedes him with incidents like these, there should at least be some leeway for players reacting in the moment to knuckleheads who think they have carte blance to say whatever they please just because they’re sitting courtside.
Video via NBA Reddit
