If There Is One Person You Don't Want To Piss Off, It's Demarcus Cousins

If you're not a hardcore 2k fan, you may not know the name Ronnie2k Singh. Singh is the digital marketing director at 2K and has a social imprint that is usurped by only a few handful of elite NBA players along with a contact list that would make top NBA agents blush, and in many ways, serves as the link between the 2K community, the players, and the developers. He's the shit, basically. And he knows it too. 

In this stream, Ronnie was discussing the new NBA player 2k league that had been announced, and as he so often does, gave his opinion about a player's demeanor. He called Demarcus Cousins, "such a dick".

Woof. Maybe there's a chance Demarcus never saw it? 

Double Woof. 

Let me tell you, as someone who has met Demarcus a few times and observed him many times covering the NBA, and knows Ronnie2k personally, watching all of this happen in real-time was DELICIOUS. 

Demarcus Cousins is someone you just do NOT want to fuck with. There are two sides to Boogie. I've seen them both. If he likes you and feels like you're respectful, he's extremely soft-spoken, charming and sweet. If he feels like you've treated him poorly or misrepresented him in any way publicly, OOH BOY. He's rude, aloof, and immovable. 

In short, “such a dick.”

I covered an NBA launch event a couple of years back that had media availability with select players. Demarcus was, yes, in attendance. We were slotted to have a one-on-one interview with him when Katie Nolan and ESPN asked to step in front of us because they were on a time crunch (another story for another day) and because I have a modicum of empathy, I obliged. As soon as Katie walked up to Demarcus, the vibe shifted immeasurably. It got icy, fast. His smile mutated into a scowl at lightning speed. He looked at his PR guy while pointing at Katie and said "Nope, not her. I'm done. No more interviews."  

FML. 

I have no idea what Katie did to piss him off, but I can guarantee she did something. It could have been three months prior, or three years prior, and frankly, that's all the same to Cous. 

Fast forward less than a year later, I experienced the same thing when I covered the NBA Finals. For those in the media Demarcus liked, it was all smiles, sunshine, and skittles. Ask him anything you want. All good. If you're in the "naughty" camp, you might as well not even try getting a quote. I saw the latter up close a few times and it was unbearable to watch. The kind of thing you "hate to see" but can't look away. 

So given what I've observed, this Ronnie2k thing isn't just a little mistake that can be patched up with an "ayeeee you know I was just joking man" type conversation. Whatever relationship they had, is now over. Finito. And that's the best case. 

I expect some sort of clap back from Cous, and when it comes, it's going to be ELECTRIC.