When Kevin Durant was ejected from the Warriors’ game against the Bucks on Thursday after arguing a second-quarter non-call, many NBA observers rolled their eyes. After all, fans tune in to watch the players, not the refs, and ejecting one of the league’s best does little more than diminish the game.
But when you turn up the volume and listen closely to what Durant said to referee Tre Maddox, it becomes a bit more clear why he got the boot.
KD gets ejected in his first game back from injury 😳 pic.twitter.com/ze1i4Y8oHd
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 30, 2018
If you didn’t quite catch that, it sounds a whole lot like, “That’s a fucking foul. Call the fucking foul you bitch-ass motherfucker.”
Yep, that will usually get you tossed.
Durant’s ejection, in his first game back from a rib injury, was a substantial blow to the depleted Warriors, who lost 116-107 as Giannis Antetokounmpo went off for 32 points on 14-of-18 shooting. Afterward, Durant sounded less than contrite about his actions, even while saying he regretted getting booted. Via ESPN:
“It was a tech,” Durant said. “I got thrown out of the basketball game. I wish I didn’t. I wanted to play. I’m sorry. Well, I’m not sorry, but I wish I could finish the game. … Definitely wanted to finish the game. That’s [what] I’m more so upset about — that I didn’t finish the game I wanted to play after being out a couple of weeks. Like I said, I’ll be there tomorrow at practice and be ready to do my job, which is to work hard and get better. That’s the good thing about it; I can move past it when I wake up.”
Durant, who has been ejected a league-high five times this season, has been front and center all season long in a battle between NBA referees and players. To hear the league’s stars tell it, officials are overly sensitive and prone to vendettas. Warriors forward Draymond Green, for example, said earlier this year that refs are “ruining the game” and should all be replaced. Officials, on the other hand, say all they ask for is respect.
The ref-player feud won’t likely end any time soon, but maybe Thursday’s incident can teach all involved a valuable lesson: Calling someone a “bitch-ass motherfucker” probably won’t end well for you.
