NBA star hurls profanities at reporter in outburst caught on camera

You don't see this every day: An NBA star getting in a local columnist's face, then that columnist's paper devoting an entire article to condemning the player's "bullying."

But then again, the Sacramento Kings aren't your everyday NBA team and DeMarcus Cousins isn't your everyday NBA star.

Joyce Terhaar is executive editor of The Sacramento Bee. She published a column this weekend entitled, "DeMarcus Cousins unleashes profanities at Bee reporter in latest attempt to control the media."

The crux of the story was a confrontation between Cousins and Bee columnist Andy Furillo. To be more accurate, actually, Cousins was the one doing all the confronting. Cousins was upset about Furillo having written a column that mentioned a nightclub altercation involving Cousins and his younger brother, Jaleel. Jaleel Cousins, an NBA minor leaguer, was arrested following the July incident in Tampa.

Video of Cousins, shirtless and wearing a towel around his waist, as he confronts the much smaller and older Furillo is quite something. He sticks a a finger in Furillo's face and says, "We're gonna have some real fucking issues. Don't ever mention my brother again. You don't know my brother."

After a Kings teammate and a Kings communications staffer intervene, Cousins backs off but isn't done.

"Fucking coward," Cousins continues. "You say whatever the fuck you want to say about me, but don't mention my motherfucking family."

Accompanying Terhaar's Bee column was footage of the incident, spliced together with additional footage of Cousins being rude to other local media members. Here's a look.

And here's a brief snippet of Terhaar's column calling out Cousins for his behavior toward Furillo and other reporters.

Furillo held his ground. That’s no small thing given Cousins’ strength and size. It likely helped that Furillo is an experienced journalist who was shot at as he covered riots in Los Angeles and threatened by family members of criminal defendants while he covered Sacramento’s Superior Court. He’s seen worse.

But not every sports journalist has that background. And none of them need to put up with grossly unprofessional behavior to cover a basketball team.

Cousins is among the NBA's very best players. He's the league's fourth-leading scorer this year and a singular talent thanks to his combination of size and skill. But he's languished on a crappy Sacramento team for going on seven seasons now.

During that time, he's also gained a reputation as a hothead, both on and off the court. Yet he's also won over many fans for what at times can be a charming personality, as well as for his considerable skill and passion for the game.

Even as someone who enjoys watching Cousins play and appreciates his unfiltered personality from afar, the footage of him confronting Furillo is nothing but a bad look for an NBA star making more than $15 million this season.