Cousins and the camera man

#4
what did donte greene do to have cousins take a swing at him last season? reportedly they argued with cuz mad that greene would not pass him the ball.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#7
That's something Cousins is going to have to learn to ignore. Freelance reporters/cameramen are gonna bait him every chance they get just in the hopes of getting that big $$$ video clip.
 

rainmaker

Hall of Famer
#8
Camera man has no right to point the camera at Cousins while he's changing, if he asks. On or off. If it's off there was no reason to have it pointed his way.
 

Capt. Factorial

ceterum censeo delendum esse Argentum
Staff member
#9
Everybody read that twitter before pasing any mroe judegment. I'm going to alter the title of the thread a bit too.
Problem is, by tomorrow the story will be that Cousins punched the cameraman, knocking him out, then thrust his bare hand into the cameraman's abdominal cavity, ripped out his small intestine, and chewed it in half before spitting it out.

If weren't for bad luck, we'd have no luck at all; if it weren't for bad and prejudiced national media coverage...
 
#10
DALLAS - By now you might have heard there was an incident involving DeMarcus Cousins during the postgame locker media time.

I spent time on my Twitter account that probably should have been devoted to my game story (don't worry bosses, I filed on time) clearing up what actually happened.


I had to do that after Dwain Price tweeted what happened after having the story relayed to him.

Rather than squeezing the situation into several tweets that are limited 140 characters I figured I'd add some detail and context to what actually happened.

After Keith Smart addressed the media we were allowed into the Kings locker room. By that time most of the players were showering.

I believe John Salmons, Francisco Garcia and Isaiah Thomas were the only players in the locker room.

I know Cousins has been sick for a few days and really had no intention of interviewing him. I also have a rule (that not all members of the media agree with) that I allow a player to get dressed before I start interviewing him.

Some players don't mind doing interviews in a towel, but Cousins is one who prefers to be dressed.

As Cousins was getting dressed there was a cameraman standing about five feet in front of Cousins' stall. Cousins asked could the camera man not point his camera at him while he was getting dressed.

The cameraman said his camera was off. Cousins said he didn't care if it was off, he did not want the camera on him while he was getting dressed.

Cousins eventually went back into the shower area to finish getting dressed.

Cousins returned and by then there were other players in the area. At some point the cameraman is leaving and he makes a remark to someone (Cousins I assume) about making sure his camera wasn't pointing at anyone next time he was in there locker room.

Cousins asked what was said. When he heard the comment Cousins stood up. Thomas tugged on Cousins' sweatshirt and said something like "it's not worth it." Cousins sat down and a few moments later, gathered his belongings and left the locker room after using some choice words.

At no point did Cousins go after anyone or was he physically held back. Seriously, do you think the smallest player on the team could keep Cousins from going after someone if he wanted to?

The cameraman (from what I was told) told the story in the media room and put way too much on how Cousins was acting toward him.

Sorry if you were looking for a story about how Cousins went crazy and tried to chase the guy down while the team held him back. That didn't happen, nor did a Ryan Leaf-like outburst.


Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/sports/kings/archives/2012/01/the-morning-aft-13.html#storylink=cpy
 
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LWP777

Guest
#11
Here we go again! More excuses for Couisins!! Yeah, I'm sure he did NOTHING WRONG! It's always someone else's fault!!
 

Glenn

Hall of Famer
#13
Here we go again! More excuses for Couisins!! Yeah, I'm sure he did NOTHING WRONG! It's always someone else's fault!!
By implication you are saying it's Cousins' fault. I personally don't know anything more than the eye witness who tweeted and then wrote an article on what happened. Do players have the right to be naked in private? I have always thought it bizarre that media have access to the locker room as players changed.
 

rainmaker

Hall of Famer
#14
Here we go again! More excuses for Couisins!! Yeah, I'm sure he did NOTHING WRONG! It's always someone else's fault!!
Except for, every report other than that of the camera mans suggest differently.

Just because you're all for letting camera men film your junk in locker rooms, doesn't mean Cousins should as well. Imagine how a female athlete would react to not only journalists in the locker room when changing, but cameras as well. Hell, most women complain about coed changing rooms with private stalls at department stores.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#15
Here we go again! More excuses for Couisins!! Yeah, I'm sure he did NOTHING WRONG! It's always someone else's fault!!

So whats your point? Are we as fans suspossed to always believe anything bad thats printed about Cousins? Should we forget that there are witnesses that contradict what the cameraman said? I realize that Cousins is a convienient whipping boy. It appears that Westphal thought so too. Look, he's no angel, and I think he'd admit that. But that doesn't mean everything is his fault. You have to know that because of his reputation, there are going to be people that try and provoke him.

When he was at Kentucky, there was and incident after a game where he suspossedly punched a fan from the opposing team as he was trying to leave the court. It was printed in papers nationwide. Upon futher review, and in a piece of film that can be seen on youtube, it shows Cousins packing his bag and then quietly leaving the court. However a about a minute later, Patrick Patterson had packed his bag and was leaving the court when an opposing fan rushed right at him. Patterson defended himself by throwing a punch at the fan. The fan later reported that he had been punched by Cousins, who wasn't even on the court at the time.

To this day, I'm sure that there are fans that still think Cousins was the one that punched the fan. There are similiar incidents that I won't go into. My point is, its not always Cousins fault, and he happens to be boxed into a corner where he gets the automatic blame. Now he earned that position, but that doesn't make him the bad guy every time.
 
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LWP777

Guest
#16
You guys are hilarious! It's amazing how far you'll defend a guy just because he's a professional athlete for your favorite team. Of course, we don't know what really happened inside the locker room. I seriously doubt a cameraman was trying to film his "junk" like a few of you have mentioned. My bet would be that Cousins who was probably fuming from the bad loss and also feeling under the weather probably went off on the cameraman because he was accidentally too close to his locker.

So let me ask you guys this. Let's play hypothetical here and pretend that this is what Cousins said to the guy:

"Get your mother f'ing punk *** away from my locker room *****...."

Would that change your opinion on the situation? I can tell you that is how Cousins reacts in situations like this. That I know for sure. So here is the list so far of excuses that you all have made for him so far:

-Confrontation with Coach Cal: No big deal. Coach Cal says he's a good kid.....
-Punched a fan at Kentucky: Never happened. He wasn't on the court!
-1 game suspension by Westphal last year for giving the choke sign in a game: He's just young and immature...he'll get better
-Punching teammate Donte Greene because he didn't pass him the ball: Not really sure what the excuse was on this one!
-Confrontation with conditioning coach: See above!
-1 game suspension by Westphal this year for demanding a trade, twice: Westphal was lying!
-Confrontation with camera man: Perverted cameraman was trying to film his junk!

What's the next excuse going to be???
 
#17
So let me ask you guys this. Let's play hypothetical here and pretend that this is what Cousins said to the guy:

"Get your mother f'ing punk *** away from my locker room *****...."

Would that change your opinion on the situation? I can tell you that is how Cousins reacts in situations like this. That I know for sure.
So, which is it? A hypothetical or an actual quote. You say you know this is how he talks for sure. What is YOUR source? You talk like others have some big agenda in defending his actions. Seems like you have the biggest agenda of them all.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#18
What's the next excuse going to be???
How about the excuse that a reporter that was actually there said pretty much nothing happened. I know that's not nearly as much fun as screaming and panic, but it appears to be the case.

You've just got whipped by 40pts, you're sick, and some camera dude is pointing his camera at your bare ***. I might be a tad grumpy too. Especially if he made a smart remark about it.
 
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LWP777

Guest
#19
How about the excuse that a reporter that was actually there said pretty much nothing happened. I know that's not nearly as much fun as screaming and panic, but it appears to be the case.

You've just got whipped by 40pts, you're sick, and some camera dude is pointing his camera at your bare ***. I might be a tad grumpy too. Especially if he made a smart remark about it.
Look, I don't disagree that if what you say happened really happened. It's just weird that DMC always seems to be in the middle of situations like this. At some point, you have to realize that he's the common denominator don't you?

There are all kinds of situations that come up in life. They happen to you, me, and even professional athletes. It's HOW you deal with them that defines character IMO. At this point in his life, he doesn't seem to handle these situations very maturely or professionally.
 
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LWP777

Guest
#20
So, which is it? A hypothetical or an actual quote. You say you know this is how he talks for sure. What is YOUR source? You talk like others have some big agenda in defending his actions. Seems like you have the biggest agenda of them all.
I was not there in the locker room so this was just a hypothetical but I do know that this is the sort of thing that he says at times. No, you're not getting my source.

I have no agenda. I'm just all for personal accountability. Something that apparently isn't very common anymore.
 
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Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#21
Look, I don't disagree that if what you say happened really happened. It's just weird that DMC always seems to be in the middle of situations like this. At some point, you have to realize that he's the common denominator don't you?

There are all kinds of situations that come up in life. They happen to you, me, and even professional athletes. It's HOW you deal with them that defines character IMO. At this point in his life, he doesn't seem to handle these situations very maturely or professionally.
Question, do you actually believe that [fill in your favorite celebrity here] has a dozen affairs a year, not counting the one with the space alien?

Cousins personality is what it is. But the media creates and perpetuates a lot of perceptions. Because Cousins is a story they sit and wait for any sign. If Isiah Thomas does this, you would never have heard a peep. In this case it sounds like the cameraman (a media type) may have even embellished things a bit, and again it being Cousins probably had a hand in that unless the camera dude's just a natural drama queen.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#23
This is a such a non-story if what Jason Jones wrote is accurate.
I'm sure if there was a real story here, Jason would have reported it.

LWP777 = As Brickie has said, if this was about any player not named DeMarcus Cousins it wouldn't have received any kind of play at all.

Is Cousins perfect? Nope. Are any of us? Nope. Has he had problems? Oh, hell yes. So have a lot of other players that seemed to turn out okay. The kid has skills and he just needs to do some growing up. Coach Smart obviously has a better chance at helping him in that regard than did Westphal. Even if Cousins had used the language you paraphrased, so what? Cameramen are intrusive in locker rooms and I think they should defer to the wishes of the players or just stay out of the freaking way until the poor guys can at least get dressed.

Nothing to see here.
 
#24
LWP777 -
you seem to have VERY different expectations of a professional athlete than I do.

I feel that an athlete should give strong effort during the game, incorporate instruction, and be a good teammate.

He should not be an automaton.
You seem to view emotion as a negative thing. On the contrary, I feel it is a prime component of many competitive personalities.

When DMC makes a mistake, I damn well can tell that it bothers him, and he appears to try differently next time.
Just as a contrary example, I watch Tyreke turn it over on a 3-on-1 break for the 20th time, and I see ZERO evidence that it even bothers him, much less that he's made a note of his mistake and appears to try differently next time.

Similarly, if DMC has issues with his coach, he appears to try and discuss it with his coach in an appropriate time in his office - the coach blew a gasket and threw him under the bus for it. That was Bush league by Westphal, not DMC.

I EXPECT a good teammate to get in his teammates faces if he thinks they're f-ing up.
I expect a good teammate to be looking out for the team if a coach is sabotaging the team.

If an athlete has to encounter the slime paparazzi-ish "reporters" that dwell at stadiums nowadays, and they get no respect or accommodation from those slime that only want to get their twitter followed or their bylines read, I have ZERO problem with there being an altercation - I would expect no different from myself.

I don't want a saint on the team - I don't want a politician on the team - I want an elite athlete.

If you are believing every single negative word that emanates from this society about a targeted guy like Cousins, than you are showing naivete and bias.
 
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rainmaker

Hall of Famer
#25
Look, I don't disagree that if what you say happened really happened. It's just weird that DMC always seems to be in the middle of situations like this. At some point, you have to realize that he's the common denominator don't you?

There are all kinds of situations that come up in life. They happen to you, me, and even professional athletes. It's HOW you deal with them that defines character IMO. At this point in his life, he doesn't seem to handle these situations very maturely or professionally.
How you deal with it? Cousins asked what the camera man said, didn't take a step towards him or raise his voice, and quietly packed his bags and left. And that's coming from a named source, IN the locker room, not some unnamed source you'd like us to believe.

He was changing. I ask you, how would your wife or gf react if I decided to point a camera at her when she's changing? How would you react? Would you hold yourself and your gf to the same apparent level you hold Cousins?
 

Glenn

Hall of Famer
#26
You guys are hilarious! It's amazing how far you'll defend a guy just because he's a professional athlete for your favorite team. Of course, we don't know what really happened inside the locker room. I seriously doubt a cameraman was trying to film his "junk" like a few of you have mentioned. My bet would be that Cousins who was probably fuming from the bad loss and also feeling under the weather probably went off on the cameraman because he was accidentally too close to his locker.

So let me ask you guys this. Let's play hypothetical here and pretend that this is what Cousins said to the guy:

"Get your mother f'ing punk *** away from my locker room *****...."

Would that change your opinion on the situation? I can tell you that is how Cousins reacts in situations like this. That I know for sure. So here is the list so far of excuses that you all have made for him so far:

-Confrontation with Coach Cal: No big deal. Coach Cal says he's a good kid.....
-Punched a fan at Kentucky: Never happened. He wasn't on the court!
-1 game suspension by Westphal last year for giving the choke sign in a game: He's just young and immature...he'll get better
-Punching teammate Donte Greene because he didn't pass him the ball: Not really sure what the excuse was on this one!
-Confrontation with conditioning coach: See above!
-1 game suspension by Westphal this year for demanding a trade, twice: Westphal was lying!
-Confrontation with camera man: Perverted cameraman was trying to film his junk!

What's the next excuse going to be???
Why is this so important? I know Cousins is a handful. I also hope he eventually gets a grip on himself. His temper is more likely to put a limit on his career than anything else. It certainly seems that Cousins has a big target on his nack or we wouldn't be having this discussion. He has earned the target, of course, but unfortunately the target tends to skew the way people look at him.

My best friend in Wisconsin wrote that he heard of the problem that Cousins had with the coach. There was no similar news that his coach got fired. My friend did not know this and assumed the problem was totally Cousins'.
 
#27
Look, I don't disagree that if what you say happened really happened. It's just weird that DMC always seems to be in the middle of situations like this. At some point, you have to realize that he's the common denominator don't you?

There are all kinds of situations that come up in life. They happen to you, me, and even professional athletes. It's HOW you deal with them that defines character IMO. At this point in his life, he doesn't seem to handle these situations very maturely or professionally.
Did the cameraman go to the hospital with severe injuries or even a black eye? Sounds like Cousins handled himself maturely. Cousins was so furious at the cameraman that it took Isaiah Thomas (who's half his size) to restrain him. Honestly, do you think that if this type of situation happened to anybody else besides Cousins, we would hear about it?

And what about accountability of the cameraman? A player asks him to stop filming him while he's changing and he has to spew some BS. It's so easy how you're blaming Cousins and overlooking the other party involved. Wait, you'll probably reply the cameraman is just doing his job trying to support his family while making ends meet.
 
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#28
You guys are hilarious! It's amazing how far you'll defend a guy just because he's a professional athlete for your favorite team. Of course, we don't know what really happened inside the locker room. I seriously doubt a cameraman was trying to film his "junk" like a few of you have mentioned. My bet would be that Cousins who was probably fuming from the bad loss and also feeling under the weather probably went off on the cameraman because he was accidentally too close to his locker.

So let me ask you guys this. Let's play hypothetical here and pretend that this is what Cousins said to the guy:

"Get your mother f'ing punk *** away from my locker room *****...."

Would that change your opinion on the situation? I can tell you that is how Cousins reacts in situations like this. That I know for sure. So here is the list so far of excuses that you all have made for him so far:

-Confrontation with Coach Cal: No big deal. Coach Cal says he's a good kid.....
-Punched a fan at Kentucky: Never happened. He wasn't on the court!
-1 game suspension by Westphal last year for giving the choke sign in a game: He's just young and immature...he'll get better
-Punching teammate Donte Greene because he didn't pass him the ball: Not really sure what the excuse was on this one!
-Confrontation with conditioning coach: See above!
-1 game suspension by Westphal this year for demanding a trade, twice: Westphal was lying!
-Confrontation with camera man: Perverted cameraman was trying to film his junk!

What's the next excuse going to be???
You mean as opposed to the approach you are taking......Its gloomy out there today...that's because Cousins pissed into the wind this morning! :rolleyes:

This season at least, there is some merit with our approach. Firstly, the oddest thing was that it was Westphal's name on that press release and not of Geoff Petrie or anyone else from the front office. Its interesting that everyone at the Kings distanced themselves from that statement from the moment it got released. MANY sources from within the Kings confirmed it was nowhere near as dramatic as Westphal claimed and it was in the jest of "If you think I am such a cancer to this team, trade me now!" Hardly someone demanding a trade.

As for the latest incident if you even want to call it that, there was a reporter there in the lockeroom who saw the whole thing and said it was nothing like the cameraman said it was yet you still believe camerman's story who was obviously fishing for a reaction.

Like I said....Its gloomy out there today...that's because Cousins pissed into the wind this morning! :rolleyes:
 
K

Kingsguy881

Guest
#29
Why even bother guys. LWP has his mind made up that Cousins is the canc.....wait, LWP, does that stand for LookatmeI'mPaul Westphal?
 
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LWP777

Guest
#30
Why even bother guys. LWP has his mind made up that Cousins is the canc.....wait, LWP, does that stand for LookatmeI'mPaul Westphal?
Huh? I am entitled to my opinion, which is hardly different than most informed people connected with the league have of DMC. I'll have the same opinion the next time he does something stupid again too and I'm sure you'll be there defending him again and making excuses.