Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks was ejected from Game 3 of the Western Conference first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers for a groin shot on LeBron James, and he thinks there is one big reason he was tossed from the game.
Brooks was assessed a flagrant-2 foul for hitting James below the belt while going for a steal in the third quarter, which triggers an automatic ejection (video here). Speaking to reporters on Sunday for the first time since his ejection, Brooks blamed his “villain” reputation among media and fans for leading to the call.
“The media making me a villain, the fans making me a villain and then that just creates a whole different persona on me,” Brooks said, via Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “So now you think I intended to hit LeBron James in the nuts. I’m playing basketball. I’m a basketball player. So if I intended — and that’s whatever is in the flagrant-2 category — if you think I did that, that means you think I’m that type of person.”
Brooks might have more of a claim if Philadelphia’s James Harden had not been tossed for a very similar move against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday. Brooks even acknowledged this, noting that referee Marc Davis “probably had to call that cause of what happened with James Harden.” Harden was not suspended, and Brooks won’t be either, so both players are essentially being treated the same.
Ultimately, it wasn’t the media or fans that gave Brooks 18 technical fouls during the regular season. They also weren’t responsible for him deciding to say what he said about James after Game 2, which became the big storyline heading into Saturday’s contest. Brooks seems to like being the villain when it works in his favor, but decries the reputation when it seems to be working against him. That won’t really fly.
