Scathing Article from Amick on Cousins

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

You're a grown-assed man, Cap'n: you couldn't have possibly thought that, when I said "believe in Cousins," I meant, "look to a twenty-three year-old kid as a mentor."

I've got to beg to differ with your assessment that most Kings Fans are "satisfied" with the progress that Cousins has made, because (to me) it carries an inference that we'd be okay if he's already reached his plateau. What I think that most of us believe is that his progress has been at at pace that is appropriate and suitable to his level of development. I feel that the disconnect comes where it appears as though you expect a level of maturity out of a twenty-three year-old that is not consistent with the expected maturity level of the average twenty-three year-old. Your posts read as though you feel that, because Cousins it the best player on the team, you are evaluating him based on what you expect to be the maturity level of a franchise player, while disregarding the fact that he is considerably younger than the average franchise player, and neither has he had the benefit of a strong foundation to help teach him how to conduct himself.

Considering what he's dealt with in four years (losing culture, poisonous locker room, carpetbagging ownership, poor management, one coach who hated him, another who was utterly incompetent, neither of which had his best interests at heart), I'm astonished that he's even as mature as he is. I'm not "satisfied" with his progress, but I also understand that, unless you're the Strong Muldoon, you can't get blood out of a stone. He's getting there, and there's nothing at all atypical about how long it's taking him to get there. I think you forget that kids like Paul George are the exception, not kids like Cousins.

 

[Dime Dropper]

I did, and I thought I answered the question as such. I thought my answer made it clear about my mindset towards Cousins. I don't care about his personal life, I'm not looking for someone to look up to, I just want him to be good at basketball. That's why the idea that I'm hating on him is laughable, he is the best player on my favorite team, why would I point out his flaws without reason?

Before this article (which I place more weight in than the majority here seem to), I would easily state that Cousins was on the right path and had improved in ALL the areas I think he needs to improve in. This article has shaken the confidence I have in that stance. However, even when I was confident in his progress it was clear to me that he still had A LOT of improvement that needed to be made.

I have high expectations for the Kings and Cousins. These expectations are probably the reason why I desire to see more improvement while the rest of the members here are satisfied with the progress has been made (and simply was to enjoy it). I recognize and understand this. I was ready to walk away from this "discussion" until this article came to light and I thought that it would allow some people to reevaluate their thoughts. I was disappointed to see that most people just disregarded it since it wasn't in line with their opinions.

It was disregarded because it's nonsense, not because it isn't in line with their opinions. I think you should probably look in the mirror when you accuse others of "believing what they want to believe."

Had this been an article about Cuz throwing his girlfriend down a flight of stairs or punching a one-legged homeless infant with Parkinsons disease, I think you'll find people would be highly critical of Cuz. People are attacking the stupidity of the article, nothing more and nothing less. Of course nobody is saying Cuz is perfect but keep arguing against that point - it's just a strawman.

 

[Kingster]

Why didn't you come on here with such a strong stance against Isaiah when he dropped a loud F-bomb the other night when he thought he got fouled on a pullup 3? It was loud enough the mics picked it up and I heard it over a thousand miles away.

But yes, let's continue acting like Cuz and JT are the only pro athletes who swear during competition and that how you talk when visiting sick children in a hospital is the standard for language used by pro athletes during competition. We all obviously use the same language when playing sports/in the gym/with the guys as we do at our grandmother's Thanksgiving dinner table, don't we?

I'm offended by your use of the word "idiotic". Where's your standards? Would you use that term around cancer patients? I wouldn't. I think a "lower mental capacity" would be a more proper term. Tisk, tisk.

In answer to your question, a player who repeatedly and virtually in every game is seen to say, F-Me!, F-Me!, F-Me! is an idiot. He should have his mouth washed out with soap by mommy. I actually feel sorry for JT's parents, to see him on TV or in person (Holy Moly) saying, F-Me!, F-Me!, F-Me! Oh, how proud they must be! I can see them watching TV with the family: There's my son, JT! He misses a shot. F-Me!

PS I just had a thought about the above. Maybe JT's mom doesn't understand, F-Me! I can see her saying to her husband: Isn't JT getting his needs met?
.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Whenever I see someone get all up in arms about profanity, my first thought is, "Man, it must be interesting to have lived your entire life without knowing and/or being related to anyone who's ever worked as a policeman, or a fireman, or a service member, or a truck driver, or a contractor, or a dock worker, or..."

 

[rainmaker]

In answer to your question, a player who repeatedly and virtually in every game is seen to say, F-Me!, F-Me!, F-Me! is an idiot. He should have his mouth washed out with soap by mommy. I actually feel sorry for JT's parents, to see him on TV or in person (Holy Moly) saying, F-Me!, F-Me!, F-Me! Oh, how proud they must be! I can see them watching TV with the family: There's my son, JT! He misses a shot. F-Me!

.

You've obviously never been around sports in your life and simply haven't got a clue what happens at high levels of competition. Not much else to say, really.

BTW, JT's parents do seem proud when they go to games and I generally think it's completely over the line to bring the families of our players into your argument, an argument based off blind assumptions at that. I'd say more but why get an infraction? You're no longer worth the time. Sometimes I wonder what happened to the Kingster who was a respectable member of this board.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Sometimes I wonder what happened to the Kingster who was a respectable member of this board.

 

[Kingster]

Whenever I see someone get all up in arms about profanity, my first thought is, "Man, it must be interesting to have lived your entire life without knowing and/or being related to anyone who's ever worked as a policeman, or a fireman, or a service member, or a truck driver, or a contractor, or a dock worker, or..."

Oh, please, stop. You want to hear profanity? Just take a field trip to your nearest prison. The prisoners (and guards) don't need a vocabulary. Everything is MF, MF, MF. They can have entire discussions, with a few conjunctions thrown in, based on the intonation and facial expressions and body language of MF.

It's a question of propriety - appropriate time and place. I think it's sad that parents would have to keep their kids from the courtside seats because of the "carnal knowledge" that they would be exposed to. I heard on Napier's show not that long ago a parent calling up on precisely this subject. Said he'd never take his kid back. I don't blame him. A guy's locker room is one thing, a public arena is quite another, especially when you know the Kings' owners and the NBA want to attract as much youth to the sport as possible.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Okay, I'll bite: who is the arbiter of propriety? What gives that guy the right to decide what's appropriate to expose my son to?

Kids who are never exposed to dirt never develop any antibodies.

 

[Spike]

Sigh. Strange hill you've chosen to die on, Kingster.

 

[Glenn]

Glenn, IIRC, is a retired LCDR.

That be true.

 

[Dime Dropper]

There was this one kid who heard someone say the MF word when he was 5, and he turned out to be a serial killer. True story.

 

[cuad]

There was this one kid who heard someone say the MF word when he was 5, and he turned out to be a serial killer. True story.

Excuse me, but I was 5 and a quarter, not 5!

 

[Tetsujin]

So when's Sam writing the article on Richard Sherman?

 

[VF21]

That be true.

Thank you for your service.

 

[VF21]

Oh, please, stop. You want to hear profanity? Just take a field trip to your nearest prison. The prisoners (and guards) don't need a vocabulary. Everything is MF, MF, MF. They can have entire discussions, with a few conjunctions thrown in, based on the intonation and facial expressions and body language of MF.

It's a question of propriety - appropriate time and place. I think it's sad that parents would have to keep their kids from the courtside seats because of the "carnal knowledge" that they would be exposed to. I heard on Napier's show not that long ago a parent calling up on precisely this subject. Said he'd never take his kid back. I don't blame him. A guy's locker room is one thing, a public arena is quite another, especially when you know the Kings' owners and the NBA want to attract as much youth to the sport as possible.

So we're back to worrying about the children? Ultimate straw man.

I've had seats in probably every section of STA, both upper level and lower level. Thanks to some extraordinary luck, I've also been seated in KingsRow. And you know what? I've heard more profanity from FANS than I've heard from the players. Let's get real here. This whole thing is trumped up...

Even your beloved Isaiah Thomas has cursed. Are you going to want Amick to address that in an article that says IT drops the F bomb despite being a religious person?

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Won't anyone think of the children?!

 

[VF21]

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

 

[rainmaker]

With a father named Dell who used colorful language when he played in the NBA, hopefully Steph Curry finds his way in life at some point, is able to carve out a career and can recover from the language he was subjected too as a child while being closer to the NBA game than most would ever dream of getting. How can such a young kid ever recover from the language he was subjected to while spending countless hours in NBA locker rooms and around NBA practices as a child? Oh the humanity.

Lost cause I say. Maybe the issue was Steph's parents. Maybe he'd have been a success story if his father wasn't a foul mouthed NBA player. Klay Thompson agrees with this post. The language he was subjected to while being surrounded by foul-mouthed NBA players as a child ruined his future.

 

[Glenn]

Won't anyone think of the children?!

Sounds like a Mad Max movie.

 

[rainmaker]

Just thought I'd stop in and share my opinion, which certainly is as valid/ invalid as anyone else's.

I suggest we meet back here in 24 hours, I have a feeling tomorrow will be interesting.

What was supposed to be interesting today?

 

[Section 101]

Oh, please, stop. You want to hear profanity? Just take a field trip to your nearest prison. The prisoners (and guards) don't need a vocabulary. Everything is MF, MF, MF. They can have entire discussions, with a few conjunctions thrown in, based on the intonation and facial expressions and body language of MF.

It's a question of propriety - appropriate time and place. I think it's sad that parents would have to keep their kids from the courtside seats because of the "carnal knowledge" that they would be exposed to. I heard on Napier's show not that long ago a parent calling up on precisely this subject. Said he'd never take his kid back. I don't blame him. A guy's locker room is one thing, a public arena is quite another, especially when you know the Kings' owners and the NBA want to attract as much youth to the sport as possible.

LOL. Your clueless on the subject. There is constant cussing by players and FANS at the games. Better not take your kid out of the house if you don't want them to hear cussing.

 

[JSin]

I've got to beg to differ with your assessment that most Kings Fans are "satisfied" with the progress that Cousins has made, because (to me) it carries an inference that we'd be okay if he's already reached his plateau. What I think that most of us believe is that his progress has been at at pace that is appropriate and suitable to his level of development. I feel that the disconnect comes where it appears as though you expect a level of maturity out of a twenty-three year-old that is not consistent with the expected maturity level of the average twenty-three year-old. Your posts read as though you feel that, because Cousins it the best player on the team, you are evaluating him based on what you expect to be the maturity level of a franchise player, while disregarding the fact that he is considerably younger than the average franchise player, and neither has he had the benefit of a strong foundation to help teach him how to conduct himself.

I agree completely. The idea that most fans believe he is developing at an appropriate pace is what gives my assessment that they are "satisfied" with his progress. I do believe that for our team to be successful, Cousins does need to mature at a pace that is beyond an average 23 year old. And I have annotated numerous times that it is unfortunate there isn't a senior NBA player who can provide this role model for him (I was hoping that would be Gay, but that was false hope). My expectation for him to mature faster than he should isn't fair. And yes, my expectations are based on what he is (the leader of the team), his place on the team (the franchise player and best player), and without regard for his age. This isn't a insurmountable request, there are players in the NBA that show far superior maturity at a much younger age than him.

But if people's consternation with my opinion is that it isn't fair, no, it isn't.

 

[Tetsujin]

LOL. Your clueless on the subject. There is constant cussing by players and FANS at the games. Better not take your kid out of the house if you don't want them to hear cussing.

Don't let them go to school for that matter. Everything I know about swearing, I learned from fifth grade onwards.

 

[ppine]

When Sandra Bullock uses profanity to accept an award, and teenage girls swear a lot, it becomes obvious that our society has accepted profanity. It is a common thread of reality shows and the censorship standards are slowly being relaxed . In the big picture, we are headed towards a society of people that swear.

When the majority of people swear often it loses its effectiveness. It starts to become irrelevant, except that is shows that many people have shrinking vocabularies. Many people swear a lot because they are not educated. If you have the benefit of an education, may I suggest that you speak like you do.

Basketball is very intense especially at the NBA level. People get frustrated, all the time. A lot of them swear. It used to make me swear. It is not going away and some people need to just get used to it.

 

[FaStRmAn]

Hell, If I got fouled every time I had the ball and rarely if ever got a call from the Ref's, I'd be a little testy too. Add to that, any aggressive move to the basket is called an offensive foul, and I can see why Cousins is not entirely happy about his situation. Other centers in the league get far more foul calls and shoulder into players to create space under the rim and score without a foul call. Shaq would have fouled out of every single game he ever played if he got called for the offensive fouls that Cousins gets called for. Cousins would score 15-20 points from the free throw line every night if they called half the fouls he incurs nightly. It is really just a lack of respect by refs, coupled with an existing bad attitude image. Only time will fix these issues.

 

[G_M]

I think there is a difference between dropping an F bomb and yelling at a fan to perform a sex act on you........

Cousins for good or bad is the face of the franchise. I think it's fair to question his behavior. I'm not sure it's the profanity but rather the context.

 

[Hadlowe]

Don't let them go to school for that matter. Everything I know about swearing, I learned from fifth grade onwards.

Fifth grade? Did you go to school in a monastery? That's pretty late in life to learn how to curse properly.

 

[Tetsujin]

Fifth grade? Did you go to school in a monastery? That's pretty late in life to learn how to curse properly.

My memory of my elementary school days is hazy at best. Who knew repeated concussions weren't good for the brain? But yeah, it was probably earlier than that. After all, all the "cool kids" swore and lord knows how much I wanted to be a cool kid.

 

[Chubbs]

So we're back to worrying about the children? Ultimate straw man.

I've had seats in probably every section of STA, both upper level and lower level. Thanks to some extraordinary luck, I've also been seated in KingsRow. And you know what? I've heard more profanity from FANS than I've heard from the players. Let's get real here. This whole thing is trumped up...

Even your beloved Isaiah Thomas has cursed. Are you going to want Amick to address that in an article that says IT drops the F bomb despite being a religious person?

I would like to see an article that lists nba players caught cursing during games.

Actually, the list would be of players who haven't cursed during games. And it'd include Jimmer and no one else ever.

One of my first memories of the nba is the immortal rich Kelley yelling a very audible "that's horsecrap" to a ref. Only not poopoo, although that'd be hilarious. The idea of Rich Kelley saying poopoo, that's good stuff.

Just words people. That's all they are. Some we as a society have deemed bad. Some good. Still just words.

Edit: I'm anxiously awaiting someone replying to say, nope, I heard jimmer say some horrible curse word to Violet Palmer once.