The Toronto Raptors have been through multiple ups and downs during the NBA season. They have one of the most balanced cores in the NBA, yet it seems like they can't find their groove night in and night out.
That's why it's so frustrating for them to watch the referees mess with their chances of winning when they're actually playing well, just like it happened vs. the Denver Nuggets and then with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Considering that, Raptors star Fred VanVleet had one of the most epic rants in professional sports history, a NSFW tirade that cost him a $30,000 fine, but that will be remembered until the end of time.
Fred VanVleet Eviscerates NBA Referees
“I don't mind, I’ll take a fine; I don’t really care," VanVleet started. “I thought Ben Taylor was f-----g terrible tonight. I think that most nights, you know out of the three [referees] there’s one or two that just f--k the game up. It’s been like that a couple of games in a row. Denver was tough, obviously. You come out tonight, competing pretty hard and I get a bulls--t tech that changes the whole dynamic of the game, changed the whole flow of the game."
“Most of the refs are trying hard; I like a lot of the refs, they’re trying hard, they’re pretty fair, and communicate well,” the guard continued. “And then you got the other ones who just want to be d--s and just kind of f--k up the game. And no one’s coming to see that s--t. They come to see the players. And I think we're losing a little bit of the fabric of what the NBA is and was and it's been disappointing this season. You can look it up: Most of my techs this year have been with Ben Taylor officiating. So at a certain point as a player you feel it’s personal and it's never a good place to be.”
“There's been certain times this year where I feel our team is getting consumed with the way the whistle is going, especially after the night we just had in Denver the way that finished so there was a couple calls earlier that we all disagreed with,” VanVleet said.
“And if I say to my team, ‘come on, guys, let's keep playing through the bulls--t’ and that warrants a tech I think that's a little bit crazy," added VanVleet. "Like what are we doing, know what I mean? And there's a fine line obviously, I understand that. But I think the jurisdiction and the power trip that we've been on this year with some of our officials in this league is getting out of hand and I'll take my fine for speaking on it but it's just this is f--king ridiculous.”
Well, all things considered, VanVleet should be thankful it 'only' cost him $30,000. But he's now become the voice of a generation. NBA referees are terrible at their jobs, and someone needed to say it just the way he said it.
