A contrite Rajon Rondo still has DeMarcus Cousins’ All-Star vote
On Monday, in the wake of the revelation that Sacramento Kings guard Rajon Rondo spat homophobic invective at referee Bill Kennedy during a Dec. 3 game, the reaction was swift and mostly appropriate. Kennedy came out as gay in an interview with Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, and the Kings organization did well to put itself on the right side of, well, being “right.”
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To wit:
The best player and perhaps the most influential figure (including the team’s owner, arguably) on the Kings, however, decided to react in what could be described at best as “tin-eared” and at worst as “condoning the unrepentant homophobia of a teammate.”
Here’s what DeMarcus Cousins decided to take the time to type out.
The #NBAVote hashtag can be used by fan and NBA player alike as a way to cast a vote for a particular player for this February’s All-Star Game. Rondo averages 12.6 points, nearly seven rebounds and two steals a game for the 9-15 Kings, and he has acted as the most consistent performer on the squad – that’s including Cousins, even at 25 points and 10.6 rebounds a game. Rondo’s 11 assists per contest lead the NBA by a wide margin. Even in a crowded West that could include an appropriate legacy inclusion for Kobe Bryant, Rondo’s All-Star candidacy is legitimate.
All-Star games are stupid and pointless, however. If DeMarcus Cousins chose this time to toss out a vote for his fellow Kentucky Wildcat and current teammate after having not read the day’s news – that’s giving him the extreme benefit of the doubt. Everyone follows Woj. The NBA basically has an alarm clock set to the release of his tweets and columns.
If Cousins did as we all suspect, protecting the shield and his bro irrespective of his teammate’s out and out hate speech, then he has just as much as Rondo has to learn about acting like a grown-up. Rajon Rondo was born in 1986. DeMarcus Cousins was born in 1990. These aren’t exactly rubes from a different era.
In short, they both knew what they were doing, when they did what they did.
That’s presuming that DeMarcus Cousins’ impetus for doing what he did falls in line with what we all think was the impetus.
The NBA is way, way out ahead of other pro sports leagues when it comes to nailing these sorts of things. That doesn’t mean the league’s players don’t have a lot of learning to do.
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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops
