r/nba • u/GreenSnakes_ • 19h ago
DeMarcus Cousins speaks on the Kings hot-mic incident. Says a reporter in Sacramento lifted his shirt to check his physique when he was a 19-year-old rookie. “She had this infatuation about my body”
https://streamable.com/winx4h969
u/SomeSand1418 Kings 19h ago
The reporter Boogie’s referencing was laid off in 2018 and to my knowledge has not been around the team since
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u/TheeBacksideOfWater Trail Blazers 16h ago edited 2h ago
8 years after the incident? Glad they jumped on that one quick!
edit: Thank you for the award!!
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u/Ghost6x 13h ago
She wasn't laid off for anything having to do with their behavior
Sac Bee laid off the entire sports department. The newspaper industry has been in freefall since the early 2010s
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u/financialthrowaw2020 NBA 7h ago
Yep, one of the worst consequences of the recession that no one discusses. Journalism died.
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u/Soft_Hotel_5627 Timberwolves 5h ago
it's not the recession it's private equity and media consolidation. What you're seeing with the WB Paramount merger has already happened in the paper industry. I worked for one of the companies for 5 years, we owned 300ish newspapers around the country including some major ones. The parent company strips these places down to barebones.
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u/juliuspepperwoodchi Bulls 6h ago
People didn't step up to pay for the journalism they consumed... instead they bitched about pay walls.
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u/so-cal_kid Lakers 19h ago
What's in the water in Sacramento
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u/AccomplishedBake8351 19h ago
A whale recently
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u/PeregrineFaulkner Warriors 19h ago
Ben Simmons picked the right city to go fishing in, I guess.
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u/AmusingAnecdote Warriors 19h ago
Damn, Rio can't even have a little adventuring hobby without catching strays smdh
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u/osmnaos3 Toronto Huskies 19h ago
It comes from the top. You got the owner’s daughter scouting light skins for her g league squad and she ain’t looking at basketball skills.
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u/fullydepreciatedpep 17h ago
Ayo what the hell? Is that for real?
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u/ReggieEvansTheKing Kings 13h ago
She was the GM of the stockton Kings and is now dating Jeremy Lamb who was literally on her team. Massive conflict of interest that seemingly just got swept under the rug.
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u/HankTuggins Lakers 18h ago
Sacramento is cool and the people there are dope but everyone in power or in the spotlight there is whack af and weird.
They perpetuate this little brother city syndrome that doesn’t really exist, the best part of living in sac is it’s not La or the bay, but people who think they’re bigshots act weird as fuck cause they’re perpetually trying to audition for a bigger market.
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u/kayknox_ Kings 16h ago
There's big fish in little ponds everywhere trying to make it big in the marquee cities. Sacramento is just a decent-sized pond that is geographically closer to a couple of those marquee cities and has more of those people for whom that is attainable. Some of those people can overdo ambition and become real weird with it.
They perpetuate this little brother city syndrome that doesn’t really exist, the best part of living in sac is it’s not La or the bay
Some people feel like someone else having different opinions of their choices is a slight on them. Two people could have the exact some view of City A and B and one person could prefer City A for one reason and the other City B. I've heard a lot of nonsense over the years about why people prefer [area of Sacramento they've lived their whole lives] over Los Angeles or New York City based entirely off of television, a weekend vacation, or a trip to Disneyland as a toddler. I heard the same shit about California from out of state kids in college.
Maybe it's just a loud minority, but it feels like there's always somebody that can't enjoy what they have without shitting on what someone else has.
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u/xJamesio 19h ago
Props to boogie for opening up
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u/Novel_Importance_712 16h ago
When I first started listening to him I was kinda like “ok, everyone has a story…”
Then the way he broke it down was just straight up violation of a young person and he didn’t even make it grandiose, I was like 😬
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u/xJamesio 16h ago
Then the bozo nexts to him starts laughing no wonder a lot of guys don’t want to talk about this kinda stuff
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u/OrdinarySome3531 3h ago
The way he just said he just wants it handled fairly makes me feel like it definitely happened.
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u/IMDATBOY Kings 18h ago
Don’t need to listen or read any comments I know he rightfully shit talking Ailene lmao he hates her so much
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u/Significant-Fix-1973 11h ago
That's fucked up that he REPORTED it to the FO and they did NOTHING
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u/Salty_Raspberry656 4m ago
its quite simple for the nba, there is no reason to have the in the locker room, no less while people change. its such an unproffessional standard with no upside for even fans except westbrooks interviews
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u/Talentagentfriend 19h ago
It’s fucked up for his co-host to laugh about him being vulnerable
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u/NotActuallyMeta [SAS] Devin Brown 15h ago
Dude looks like the real life version of that Patrick Star dumb/drooling meme.. crazy how many people have a platform these days
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u/vanderZwan 9h ago
So laughing at someone who shows vulnerability is definitely a shitty thing that a lot of people (especially guys) do, and it's good to draw attention to that and to call it out if you see it.
In this case though, the rest of the video makes it pretty clear the co-host is agreeing with Cousins and taking his story seriously: he's shaking his head in disapproval at the reporter's behavior, and when Cousins later says "I hope the people up top will handle it accordingly and professionally", he's nodding in agreement.
In that context I'm more inclined to think he's laughing out of awkward disbelief, at the absurdity of that reporter writing an article about lifting Cousin's shirt up.
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u/SweetShirt4717 Grizzlies 19h ago
I must have missed the hot mic story. What was it about?
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u/beheemz Raptors 19h ago
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u/kushnokush Bulls 17h ago
I thought the actual Ben Simmons interview was pretty good. Solid depth to the answers and very well spoken.
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u/Acrobatic_Quarter465 19h ago
Honestly huge respect for DeMarcus here. His co host perfectly encapsulates the fragility in the community when it comes to masculinity. That being said rhe direct equation from male to female disregards differences in biology. A girl isnt gonna make me feel threatened physically.
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u/bleachbloodable Celtics 19h ago
A girl doesn't have to be physically threatening to be a creep though
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u/trimble197 18h ago
You don’t have to feel threatened to be uncomfortable when a stranger decides to touch and rub their hands all over your chest and body.
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u/ItsAlwaysSmokeInReno 76ers 19h ago
Tell that to a Tongan girl. She'll fuck up anyone except a Tongan guy
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u/Acrobatic_Quarter465 19h ago
im not saying that brock lesners daughter couldnt kick my ass or any pro female fighter i just mean 95% of the time.
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u/AssociationPurple626 17h ago
Physically threatening? No, probably not. Socially threatening? Well that’s another story. The reduction of these threats to only the physical, in an age with fewer physical altercations than ever before, and in reference to a specific situation where the physical threat could never come to fruition in the first place, seems disingenuous to me.
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u/No-Extension-6229 13h ago
lol imagine a male reporter doing that to a female athlete...
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u/FiveGuysFan Pacers 4h ago
It would be national headline news and the man would have his life ruined
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u/GreenSnakes_ 19h ago edited 19h ago
Has there been any update on whether the reporters faced actual disciplinary action?
Let's be real, if a male reporter was caught on a hot mic rating WNBA players' looks, he would be fired before he even made it back to his car in the parking lot.
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u/mantistobogganmMD Raptors 19h ago
A male reporter made a creepy remark to Caitlin Clark a WNBA player and got suspended (not fired).
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u/DsamD11 Thunder 19h ago
But we also live in a world that is screaming for equality. You cant pick and choose what you want to be equal. The what aboutism of it being a man is annoying, but there is some relevance as the lack of disciplinary action seems to contradict what would normally happen
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u/IonHazzikostasIsGod Raptors 13h ago edited 12h ago
But we also live in a world that is screaming for equality
It would be nice if there was someone better to lead this "equality for men too" thing other than the NBA player who told his ex-girlfriend he was going to murder her.
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u/lavender_enjoyer Celtics 19h ago
You can’t have equality while also dismissing history
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u/wooIIyMAMMOTH 12h ago edited 11h ago
It looks like you’re the one dismissing history because this situation is white women talking about black men’s bodies. Are you claiming slavery didn’t exist? Please explain the historical context of black men power dynamics. That’s pretty fucked up and racist, of course with the Celtics flair lol
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u/naiveheuristics12856 Knicks 15h ago
So with historical context this is okay?
Sure there are a lot of areas where there are easy gotcha's that ignore context and try to subvert the argument based on whataboutism.
But I don't think this is one of those cases. I don't think its necessarily a gender argument as well, but this isn't a case where historical context justifies it.
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u/nel3000 Warriors 19h ago
But they do pick and choose. The ones who hold power do it all the time throughout history.
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u/Shumonyu Warriors 18h ago edited 18h ago
Just because that's what happened in the past that doesn't make it right. The people arguing about history are not acknowledging the simple difference between how male victims and female victims have been treated and continue to be treated.
Yes female victims also don't get treated seriously and don't have the proper outrage. That doesn't change the fact that male victims get treated even less seriously, and with even less outrage.
There are many anecdotal instances of this in television and film, the judiciary system, and how victims are reported by the media. There are even studies that delve into this and find that people are often more sympathetic to female victims and find the same crime against them as a more serious offense to their male counterparts.
There is a real gap there and it should be acknowledged.
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u/dorisburqe Thunder 19h ago edited 19h ago
Ok, but think about this my fellow 50th in education friend... do we have equality? Are women and men punished the same way? Obviously not.
It just seems like everyone who gets on their high horse about women not being punished like men fail to realize that many dudes who have been caught saying sexist and weird shit have come out rather unscathed. After all, our fucking country has produced the best example of this as one of the President's most famous quotes is literally, "when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything... Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything."
Also, what is a suitable punishment? Remove the press passes? That's extreme. What they said is weird and probably should be reserved for anywhere other than an NBA press conference, but again, dudes have said more vulgar shit with less punishment.
Edit: All I'm trying to say is that this complaint you have is yet another example of a guy (presumably a guy) holding a woman to a higher standard.
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u/DsamD11 Thunder 19h ago
No its an example of wanting to hold everyone to the same high standard. Just because some have gotten away with it, doesnt mean all should. This id an elemtary level excuse of "but they did it too so why am I in trouble". It doesnt hold up.
We are able to look at past examples, and be critical of the outcomes that have occurred, while also looking at current examples and saying that they should all be punished in the same way and to the same standard. That is equal. That is equality of law, and circumstance/outcome. There will always be cases of unfair justice, but that doesnt mean unfair justice should continue.
I understand that your president (I am Australian) is a misogynistic pig who has given large groups of people the confidence to support misogyny themselves. But that is again, not an excuse to allow poor behaviour to continue regardless of who perpetrated it.
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u/veringo Nuggets 18h ago
That's their point. Everyone isn't held to the same high standard. We already know what would happen if men were caught saying these things: nothing.
We have decades and decades of history showing us that, but people always want women to have to live up to the standard people pretend men do.
Ime Udoka was caught in an inappropriate relationship at work, and his punishment was getting to be the head coach of a different NBA team. Players beat their wives/girlfriends way too regularly.
I don't see any point in being up in arms about a private conversation that should not have been captured or shared even if it's distasteful.
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u/Shumonyu Warriors 17h ago edited 14h ago
The people making these types of arguments are missing the point. Yes men get away with crimes and poor behavior. That doesn’t mean that there is a difference in how men and women are treated as both perpetrators and victims.
You can find anecdotal examples of this in television and film, how victims and perpetrators get reported by the media, and the judiciary system.
Men are more likely to receive longer prison sentences for the same offenses and are less likely to avoid incarceration entirely.
There are studies that cover these topics and delve into how people are often more sympathetic to female victims and view the exact same behavior or crime as more of a serious offense than the male counterpart.
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u/daydriem [MIN] Ricky Rubio 8h ago
I mean, Ime's situation was gross and awful to his and her families, but there was nothing illegal about it. Two consenting adults had an affair. Both were high ranking in the same company, heads of separate departments. There's no punishment to be applied there, and there's an abundance of employers (teams) that are willing to overlook shitty personal behavior if they think the candidate is the best one available. Let's be real, he's not even close to the worst offender still getting jobs in the NBA. I'd still be pissed if the Wolves hired him, don't get me wrong...
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u/neonbresson West 19h ago
also isn't there a journalist in the WNBA who always asks creepy questions to Caitlin Clark?
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u/benjamzz1 Pistons 19h ago
He did the hand heart gesture and said do this to me and we’ll get along just fine. “Gregg Doyel published a public apology and a written column, and he was subsequently suspended for two weeks and barred from covering the team.”
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u/shoegazeweedbed Pacers 10h ago
Yeah and he rightly caught a lot of shit for being a fucking creep, as all these nasty unprofessional skanks in the kings org should
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u/FunWolverine5349 17h ago
The historical context of black men power dynamics? This is what we're going with here?
Okay, go ahead, tell me about that history. I'll wait.
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u/ToplaneVayne Raptors 18h ago
This is textbook sexual harassment lol what historical context and power dynamics make it okay?
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u/Public-Discussion754 19h ago edited 25m ago
And your* inability to care about 2 things at once shows you’re not mature enough to even be in the conversation.
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u/NoCustard4201 Raptors 19h ago
This is the same sub that cries whenever they hear a black player say whiteboy, "but but but, what if the roles were reversed and a white player said blackboy!" You can't reason with people who have already decided they're the victim.
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u/WhyRedditBlowsDick 17h ago
You can’t just say “if the roles were reversed!”
Boogie is saying this in the clip.
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u/AccomplishedBake8351 19h ago edited 19h ago
It’s sooooo annoying it’s the worst kind of point, but also women athletes are objectified constantly
Ex: complaints about beach volleyball athletes not wearing bikinis, espn the body magazine put women athletes in more passive/nonathletic poses then men, constant discourse about woman athlete x, y, or z secretly being a man or being hot
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u/NoCustard4201 Raptors 19h ago
There's been a handful of games this WNBA season alone of fans throwing dildos onto the floor too
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u/dgvhjiiuyttrrffcvbjj 4h ago
It’s sooooo annoying it’s the worst kind of point, but also women athletes are objectified constantly
by professional journalists who were caught on tape?
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u/Gambit6x Heat 19h ago
I’m sure you seek equality, well then this is part of that equality formula. What that reporter did to this man is not OK. It’s actually disgusting. And nothing happened to her. And the reason why is because he’s a man.
And he deserves equality.
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u/TerrySaucer69 Spurs 18h ago
Except this isn’t a case where one is okay and one isn’t.
It is worse for a man to objectify a woman.
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u/laststance 16h ago
In the NBA that's kind of weirdly a normal thing. Players used to say owners would bring in their friends to the locker room and they'd just start grabbing guys to feel their muscles and looking at them. Donald Sterling used to say "look at my beautiful boys!" as he'd parade a line of his friends into the locker room.
We've seen fans rub up on players that dived into the crowd.
Players have mentioned owners and other high up people would pat them on the butt but not really pat but get a real palmful and hold on.
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u/AshenSacrifice Clippers 15h ago
Oh well!! That’s what’s actual equality looks like. Same standards regardless of gender…
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u/RequirementLeading12 Lakers 19h ago
I mean when men say this same exact thing to women, they get called incels.
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u/SenpaiSwanky 19h ago
I mean, look at Vrabel still keeping his job while Russini lost hers immediately. Her integrity as a reporter was compromised for sure, but there’s still something to be said here. Inequality everywhere you look.
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u/Pupusas_Man 19h ago
Didn't she quit while the company was doing an investigation?
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u/SchmearDaBagel Heat 18h ago
Not to mention it’s different dynamics.
One person, objective of sex, is a reporter whose relationships with franchises and coaches is basically the most important factor impacting/driving success in their career.
One person, objective of sex, is the head coach for a team. Their relationship with reporters doesn’t compromise their career or impact it too much.
These two people engage in an affair. Which one do you think will have their career impacted more?
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u/Sharp-Selection-3541 19h ago
Why the fuck would Vraebel be fired for cheating on his wife? Are y'all okay?
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u/jfc_this_guy 15h ago
My dad got fired for cheating on my mom 20 years ago. Some public facing jobs have morality clauses.
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u/Original-R-Kelly-Fan 19h ago
not really the same situation. being the coach of a football team and being a reporter are very different positions. especially when you’re vrabel last year
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u/Referrals23 19h ago
That’s because Vrabel just won coach of the year and took the Patriots to the Super Bowl. It’s much easier to replace a reporter than a good player/coach.
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u/SwizzGod Lakers 19h ago
Goddamn yall must have the tiniest brains. It’s because him having a relationship with a reporter is not detrimental to his job. It is to hers because it’s her job to report unbiased news.
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u/xixbia 19h ago
Vrabel would 100% have been fired if the Patriots missed the playoffs, mayne even after a first round exit.
The fact they made the Super Bowl is a major reason he was kept on.
If it turned out Pat McAfee was cheating with a WNBA coach he would not get fired.
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u/SwizzGod Lakers 18h ago
100% according to who? You? You run the Pats? Because last I checked Kraft loves the guy. Playoffs were not even the expectation going into last year
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u/kamekaze1024 19h ago
That was a consensual relationship, player/coach banging reporters isn’t a scandal. A reporter banging a player/coach is.
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u/Lennon69819 7h ago
Boogie was just 19 and Sacramento was already checking out every part of his game.
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u/FrontContribution596 19h ago
“ didn’t know it was wrong to say I’m just a girl” - Sara the reporter probably.
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u/no_more_blues Thunder 19h ago
While I get the argument of "men and women have different dynamics", NBA players are kind of in a different category. Most men will never face that kind of objectification because they're simply not that attractive. NBA players obviously are not under the same threat of violence as women, but they're gonna get objectified as much as women because they're considered attractive because they're tall and athletic. Some will just look at it as an advantage to get laid more, but it can also be uncomfortable if you're not that kind of guy. It's far less black and white "oh, he's a man and she's a woman so it's not a big deal" than some are trying to make it out. Donald Sterling couldn't really hurt the players physically either, him parading the players like race horses was still creepy and dehumanizing. There's also a level of historical treatment of black men and their bodies being commodified that people won't acknowledge but really should.
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u/vanderZwan 9h ago
Yeah, to add to what you said: it doesn't matter that these players are among the biggest, strongest, most athletic guys on the planet. Most of them are teenagers when they enter the league, still figuring out how to navigate the world, and surrounded by people who can make or break their careers. They are vulnerable kids who are constantly put in situations where they're easily taken advantage of.
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u/EarLobeJerky 9h ago
It has nothing to do with violence, it's an invasion of self and everything that should be personal.
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u/tfthisallabout Warriors 19h ago
Equal rights should apply both ways. It’s crazy the double standard but I guess that’s just how the world works
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u/reddituser28910112 19h ago edited 18h ago
Deleting this because the wrong people liked. Didn't mean it that way
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u/No_Abroad8346 13h ago
Charge her with sexual harassment
Oh wait, this doesn’t apply if the victim is a male, oops
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u/Dosinu 19h ago
i just dont think this is any of our business. Trust their friends and family and coworkers to sort it out and police themselves if any of its a problem.
Private conversations like this said in confidence, in safety of who you are with, i feel like its close to sacred. Its these places where we say silly shit, fucked shit and we nudge against guard rails, get self corrected called out in an environment that is most conducive to positive self correction.
Its just so fucked, even if any of it is deemed as 'wrong' or not, that its now a public trial.
The world nowadays can feel really confined with how pervasive recording is becoming.
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u/Escritortoise 7h ago edited 7h ago
I mean this was a conversation in a room with recording equipment, during a break in a livestream- not exactly a confessional or the break room.
This is far from an example of the pervasiveness of intrusive recording, when it was in a public forum explicitly designed to be recorded and broadcast.
Just because they were unaware a mic was live is no excuse- hot mics have gotten many reporters in trouble before and they should have some awareness of the possibility.
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u/wooIIyMAMMOTH 11h ago
I don’t think you would have the same opinion if this was a male sports reporter caught saying: “She seems like a bitch, she’s lucky she’s so hot.”
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u/BabyGotVogelbach Trail Blazers 2h ago
Damn that's heinous.
My alabaster Queen Kayte Christensen would never.
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u/PromiseEducational31 19h ago edited 16h ago
He’s talking about Ailene Voisin, now retired Sacramento Bee reporter. She’s sorta famous in Sacramento for being obsessed with player physiques.
Here’s a snippet from an article about Ricky Rubio she wrote in 2009:
“The body. Having only watched Rubio on television, most closely during last summer's Olympics, I was surprised by his physique. Dressed in a black T-shirt, shorts and sneakers, he appeared taller than his listed height – close to 6-foot-5. He also had better definition, particularly in his upper arms. He wasn't the skinny young thing he looks like on the tube.”
Edit: found another one about Spencer Hawes back in 2009. Some snippets:
Hawes says he's sorry for absence - KINGS CENTER BLAMES 'POOR COMMUNICATION'
“Spencer Hawes plopped onto the couch in the lobby of the Kings' practice facility, his 7-foot frame dominating the decor. A bag of ice encased his right knee. His gray T-shirt was soaked with sweat. His arms draped the back of the furniture, a cell phone clutched in his right hand.”
“[Hawes wants] to reassure the organization he hasn't suddenly lost his lusty work ethic…”
“According to new coach Paul Westphal, all is forgiven and forgotten. And his initial impression of his young center? Both the body of work and the body were impressive. Underneath that sweaty T-shirt, Hawes' shoulders appear broader and thicker.”
“[Hawes is] like the precocious younger sibling who tags along, who is a chronic irritant, yet whose presence enlivens and enhances the household dynamic. He's so complex, such an unusual character, that he can sit on the couch and fall on his sword at the same time.”