Scathing Article from Amick on Cousins

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#62
I'm disappointed that his article came from Amick, who I've always had respect for. Truth is, he could follow just about any NBA team around and find a story like this, but because its Cousins, it makes for bigger headlines. Wasn't there, didn't see it, don't doubt it, and don't care. The bottom line is, its hearsay, and you know how that stands up in a court of law. Only in the court of public opinion does hearsay have any merit. If I remember correctly Amick had a run in with Reggie Theus as well and went on Grants show in a head to head battle with Theus.

Etu Brutus, etu! First you claim to be his night time confident. Someone he could call in the wee hours of the morning to set the record straight, and now your stab him in the back. Did he accidentally step on your toe. I mean why the sudden turnaround? Or did you just find god, and as result you found your moral backbone and realized the error of your ways when it came to Cousins? Or did Cousins, in a moment of emotion, snub you, like Barry Bonds did to Grant many years ago, and turn your normal sympathies and understanding for the man child into an angry article. Did your ego get bruised and your reeling in disbelief? Well while your in recovery, imagine what it must feel like to be Demarcus Cousins. Maybe he has all those tatoo's to cover his bruises.

My advice Sam is to let this go. Be done with it. But knowing how you've reacted in the past, and your passion to vindicate yourself, I suspect you'll parade witness after witness taking a lie detector test to validate your article. You've suddenly become a small man to me. Or as Boston Rob said to coach after being backstabed by him and he wanted to shake Rob's hand, "Your not a man".
 
#63
Sam is one of the more respectable NBA writers.

My views on this are thus: 1. Poor move by Cousins for his image. I don't know the nuances of what happened, but it was bad enough to make Amick write about it. 2. Is this written if its not Cousins doing it? Most likely not.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#66
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.
And I have the feeling I'm going to be righteously pissed off if all of a sudden this becomes more about proving Amick was right (at the expense of throwing DMC under the bus) than about the true relevance of the matter to begin with. I hope I'm wrong.
 
#68
OMG just looked at Hoopshype and the Last 7 "Rumors" posted are all Quotes from Sam's article

All from USA Today sports

Really Seven qoutes in a row from the same Article?
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#69
I'd like to know: Why didn't Cousins just say, "No, the report is not true. I did not do that." It's a simple answer to a simple question.

If you take your kids the game, of course you would hope that they don't see that type of ugliness from a player. You're not going to a R-rated flick. You're going to a basketball game. Speaking of R-rated language, we all see Jason Thompson do the repeated, "F me, F me, F me, F me" every single game, with the "F" clearly articulated. He's not 15 anymore. You just wonder what his parents think when they see his foul mouth every game. I don't know why the coaches and organization don't tell him to clean up his act.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#70
OMG just looked at Hoopshype and the Last 7 "Rumors" posted are all Quotes from Sam's article

All from USA Today sports

Really Seven qoutes in a row from the same Article?
How can they even pull seven lines of "rumors" from tha piece? At most there are like three bits of "news" and the rest is Sam throwing a random hissy-fit like a school girl who just saw her best friend make out with the boy she has a crush on (An oddly specific metaphor but it's only because I live in Japan now).
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#71
I'd like to know: Why didn't Cousins just say, "No, the report is not true. I did not do that." It's a simple answer to a simple question.

If you take your kids the game, of course you would hope that they don't see that type of ugliness from a player. You're not going to a R-rated flick. You're going to a basketball game. Speaking of R-rated language, we all see Jason Thompson do the repeated, "F me, F me, F me, F me" every single game, with the "F" clearly articulated. He's not 15 anymore. You just wonder what his parents think when they see his foul mouth every game. I don't know why the coaches and organization don't tell him to clean up his act.
Well to be fair, Sam did post it around 12 AM Memphis time or so and I doubt Demarcus is constantly scrolling through his twitter feed looking for things to respond to.
 
#72
And I have the feeling I'm going to be righteously pissed off if all of a sudden this becomes more about proving Amick was right (at the expense of throwing DMC under the bus) than about the true relevance of the matter to begin with. I hope I'm wrong.
This story won't even be relevant today, because the story of a certain football team going to the Super Bowl will be all over the news instead!

Dammit, where's the pray emoticon? :D
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#73
I'd like to know: Why didn't Cousins just say, "No, the report is not true. I did not do that." It's a simple answer to a simple question.

If you take your kids the game, of course you would hope that they don't see that type of ugliness from a player. You're not going to a R-rated flick. You're going to a basketball game. Speaking of R-rated language, we all see Jason Thompson do the repeated, "F me, F me, F me, F me" every single game, with the "F" clearly articulated. He's not 15 anymore. You just wonder what his parents think when they see his foul mouth every game. I don't know why the coaches and organization don't tell him to clean up his act.
If you take your kid to a game and sit close enough to hear the players you ARE taking your kid to an R rated flick at all times, and anybody who has ever done it knows that.

Fans like to whine when the abuse we are constantly dishing out to players (which no sane human being would ever say to somebody's face for fear of getting knocked right on their ass) gets thrown back in their faces. I find it amusing.

This article though...its fluff. Its nothing. And the timing of it just in time to try to scuttle Cuz's momentum and All Star chances is deeply suspicious. Amick himself sounds conflicted or apologetic all the way through. Like he knows there will be consequences. Its the sort of piece about nothing you don't publish at this moment unless you or the publisher has an agenda. If you think notes about this sort of stuff should be made, this is the sort of stuff you tuck into a wider article after Cuz does or doesn't make the All Star team. Then you spin it either still growing up/not a complete package yet, or made it despite still having rough edges etc. etc. But to try to pump this up into a page long "article" reminds me of those inane assignments in school, "write three paragraphs on the life cycle of butterflies", and certainly looks like an attempt to stop the changing of the Cuz dialogue.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#74
I'd like to know: Why didn't Cousins just say, "No, the report is not true. I did not do that." It's a simple answer to a simple question.

If you take your kids the game, of course you would hope that they don't see that type of ugliness from a player. You're not going to a R-rated flick. You're going to a basketball game. Speaking of R-rated language, we all see Jason Thompson do the repeated, "F me, F me, F me, F me" every single game, with the "F" clearly articulated. He's not 15 anymore. You just wonder what his parents think when they see his foul mouth every game. I don't know why the coaches and organization don't tell him to clean up his act.
Are you serious!!! Have you ever been to an NBA game and sat near the floor. If not, you'd be amazed how many players use the F word, and many other words to boot. To single out JT or any other Kings player is just plain nonsense. Now if they direct it toward a fan, or a ref, then it makes for a different story. But even then, while I don't condone it, its far from unusual for a player to react to a fan's comments. It's not advised, especially when you have hungry reporters looking for something to write about, but as far as I'm concerned, buying a ticket doesn't give a fan carte blanche to say whatever he wants to a player without possibly expecting a reply. In the court of public opinion, the player is always going to lose that battle. Anyone remember J. Will having words with a fan sitting behind the Kings bench at the Warriors arena? Anyone remember the name of the fan? Of course not! But you all remember J. Will. It's just a lose/lose for a player, but in the heat of the moment (I've never had one of those moments of course) we all say things we wish we could take back.
 
#75
Do you think John Wooten would have tolerated any of this BS??
Or Adolph Rupp? Times have changed.
By the way, "Glory Road" has been on lately. Younger people need to see it to understand how basketball has been a transcendent sport when it comes to race in the US. Texas Western vs U of Kentucky for NCAA championship in 1966 at Cole field House, U of Maryland.
 

HndsmCelt

Hall of Famer
#76
Kind of sad when one of the biggest criticisms of the team in general is that they don't seem to care enough, but when the guy that plays with STRONG emotion, and really HATES to lose, shows emotion in response to a jerk some folks want him to be dispassionate. Sorry Sam and gang "you can't have Falstaff and have him thin."
 
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Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
#77
I'd like to know: Why didn't Cousins just say, "No, the report is not true. I did not do that." It's a simple answer to a simple question.
It probably IS true. That's not really the reason everybody is up in arms about this.

You'll note that JT didn't get his own article. This is much closer to the reason everybody is up in arms about this.
 
#78
when I was around 12-14 years old I was at a pro indoor soccer game, and one of the thugs from the opposing team was leaving thru the tunnel after a chippy game. I was standing over the tunnel and hollered "hey Borja, you're a dog". He stopped right in is tracks, looked me right in the eye, spread his arms out and said menacingly "any time a$$hole, any time..." as if we were in a prison yard.

cured me of being a mouthy d*** to players during or after the games. I think those fans deserve what they get. I didn't think to complain to the press or front office that he was mean to me or used inappropriate language. I started it - he finished it.

And when I've sat within a few rows of the court at Kings games I have heard expletives from all sorts of players that would make a sailor blush. Goes with the territory.

Really think Sam Amick blew chunks on this one. Hope it is water under the bridge soon, and I hope Bruski just drops it and looks the other way from here on.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#80
I just quit following Sam Amick on Twitter. It might not mean much, but it's my way of saying I have better things to do than to read sensationalist crap-trap from someone who throws a player under the bus. It doesn't matter if the original event happened or not. As has been said time and time again, it's about the timing of the article and how relevant it was to begin with. Bruski tweeted he thinks that this article is "story of the year" material. Apparently, Bruski lives in a cave or under a rock. There is NO way this is the story of the year...or the month...or the week...or the day.
 

Warhawk

Give blood and save a life!
Staff member
#81
And when I've sat within a few rows of the court at Kings games I have heard expletives from all sorts of players that would make a sailor blush. Goes with the territory.

Really think Sam Amick blew chunks on this one. Hope it is water under the bridge soon, and I hope Bruski just drops it and looks the other way from here on.
Agreed. And I hope Carmichael Dave doesn't help blow this up bigger than it already is. It's a non-story. Sad that for all the development that Cuz is doing this is what is grabbing the headlines now. And there is no logical reason behind it that I can see.....
 
#82
Since when are pro athletes supposed to act like church choir boys all the time? Cuz has proven to be a good, charitable dude off the court, who just happens to have a nasty competitive streak on the court. Thats what you want from your players, sometimes he channels it in the wrong way, but i'd rather have a player that plays with passion and grit, than a guy that is just content to show up and pick up his check.
 

rainmaker

Hall of Famer
#83
I'd like to know: Why didn't Cousins just say, "No, the report is not true. I did not do that." It's a simple answer to a simple question.

If you take your kids the game, of course you would hope that they don't see that type of ugliness from a player. You're not going to a R-rated flick. You're going to a basketball game. Speaking of R-rated language, we all see Jason Thompson do the repeated, "F me, F me, F me, F me" every single game, with the "F" clearly articulated. He's not 15 anymore. You just wonder what his parents think when they see his foul mouth every game. I don't know why the coaches and organization don't tell him to clean up his act.
Are you new to sports? New to competition?

You go to a HS basketball practice/game you'll hear repeated F words. College game, the same. NBA game, the same. NFL, the same, NHL, the same. MLB, the same. Soccer, the same. Pro's, college, weekend warriors at your local gym, pickup at the park, all the same. Why? It's a part of competition, has nothing to do with how you've been raised. The difference between basketball and other sports is how close the fans are to the action, yet that's not the players fault. Get that close in any sport and your delicate little ears might hear something you wouldn't hear at a family picnic.

And to single out JT? Why? Countless players use bad language and not all that quietly, from stars to the 12 man, across sports, across level of play, yet suddenly you question JT's upbringing? His parents did something right, actually. They raised a guy who made it to the top 1% of his profession in arguably the most competitive sport in the nation.

Edit: Stupid spelling mistakes/auto-correct
 
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Glenn

Hall of Famer
#84
Are you knew to sports? Knew to competition?

You go to a HS basketball practice/game you'll hear repeated F words. College game, the same. NBA game, the same. NFL, the same, NHL, the same. MLB, the same. Soccer, the same. Pro's, college, weekend warriors at your local gym, pickup at the park, all the same. Why? It's a part of competition, has nothing to do with how you've been raised. The difference between basketball and other sports is how close the fans are to the action, yet that's not the players fault. Get that close in any sport and your delicate little ears might hear something you wouldn't hear at a family picnic.

And to single out JT? Why? Countless players use bad language and not all that quietly, from stars to the 12 man, across sports, across level of play, yet suddenly you question JT's upbringing? His parents did something right, actually. They raised a guy who made it to the top 1% of his profession in arguably the most competitive sport in the nation.
I have even heard fans use such words. Oh, the horror. It can't be escaped especially at my home.
 
#85
This is news? I could write a book on all the stuff players have said to fans over the years. There have been numerous times players would tell the ref and the ref told security and fans were escorted out.

One I remember fondly was back in the early or mid 90's when I was behind the visitors bench. Fans were all over rony seikaly. He stood up turned around, grabbed his crotch and yelled "suck my ****!".
 
#86
Comes with the territory. If Boogie wants to be a star, then he has to know and understand the media scrutiny that comes with it. I doubt what he did was all that different than behavior that a lot of NBA players display on the court. However, with his past, and his emerging stardom, an "obscene gesture" towards the fans becomes news.

This is all assuming he actually DID what Amick said he did and not just making it up.
 
#87
Somebody close this tread I'd rather have someone people are scared of than a ***** like blake griffin who gets no respect from players
 
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Glenn

Hall of Famer
#89
I am wondering why this was worth so much research, if CD is to be believed and I have no reason to disbelieve him? Did Amick really spend a good chunk of 3 weeks to come up with this? Why? Why is it worth the effort? I think now an investigational piece should be done on the effect a partially out of control coach has on his team. After all, Malone just got fined and that was on the same day as this wonderful article. Are the events linked? I'd look into it as a follow-up piece. I'm waiting. For maximum effect, perhaps it should be released the day before the coaches vote for the All Star game.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#90
Comes with the territory. If Boogie wants to be a star, then he has to know and understand the media scrutiny that comes with it. I doubt what he did was all that different than behavior that a lot of NBA players display on the court. However, with his past, and his emerging stardom, an "obscene gesture" towards the fans becomes news.

This is all assuming he actually DID what Amick said he did and not just making it up.
And let's get real here. If it's "news" then why wasn't it "news" when it allegedly took place? It's still not about the action/gesture so much as the timing on releasing this earth-shattering "news".