DeMarcus Cousins Apologizes, But Not to Anybody Who Actually Cares

Ballyhooed Sacramento King DeMarcus Cousins doesn’t relate well to the media. It’s not a challenge unique to Cousins, but he does seem to be uniquely incapable of handling it, and Tuesday he finally piled up enough incidents with the press that the team reminded him, in the form of a $50,000 fine, that interacting professionally with the media is part of his job too.

The incident that precipitated the fine involved a confrontation with the Sacramento Bee, which committed the audacious act of reporting the following about an incident involving a local public figure:

"For Cousins, this is his second late-night outing on the club circuit this year that ended badly. In May, TMZ caught him at The DrYnk in Tampa with his younger brother, Jaleel. The celebrity gossip website reported that he and his brother were trying to get into the club’s DJ area when a confrontation broke out. Jaleel wound up getting shocked with a Taser and arrested while friends hustled DeMarcus out of the place."

" There is a time, place and manner to say everything, and I chose the wrong ones. Like most people, I am fiercely protective of my friends and family, and I let my emotions get the best of me in this situation. I understand my actions were inexcusable and I commit to upholding the professional standards of the Kings and the NBA. I apologize to my teammates, fans and the Kings organization for my behavior and the ensuing distraction and look forward to moving on and focusing on basketball. "