DeMarcus Cousins Clash With ‘Racist’ Coach George Karl Revealed by Nancy Lieberman

DeMarcus Cousins played one-and-a-half seasons under Hall of Fame head coach George Karl at the Sacramento Kings.

DeMarcus Cousins Clash With ‘Racist’ Coach George Karl Revealed by Nancy Lieberman

Nancy Lieberman reveals DeMarcus Cousins almost knocked out 'racist' George Karl (Image via FirstSportz)

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Over the 12 seasons DeMarcus Cousins was an NBA player, two aspects defined his career. One was his skills as a basketball player, who, when healthy, would easily be one of the best, if not the best centers in the league. The second was his temper.

The former made him a 4th overall pick, and a 4-time All-Star. Most of those came when he was with the Sacramento Kings, where he was to be their most important player, until his temper got in his way.

His temper and attitude saw his first head coach lose his job. The following season, he confronted a reporter in a hostile manner, which led the Sacramento Kings to suspend him indefinitely.

A few other incidents continued to blot his career, and the Kings were losing patience with Cousins. But he never laid hands on anyone, or that he stopped himself from doing so, as women’s basketball Hall of Famer, Nancy Lieberman, revealed while speaking on the Big 3 podcast.

There were two times in the locker room he (Cousins) tried to beat up George Karl. And that’s why he’s not given a chance. ‘Cause that coach’s circle? It is no joke… I thought George was one of the most racist… I sat in the meetings. It was unbelievable. Ask him out. Come out.

Nancy Lieberman said

It so happens that the others in this podcast, Michael Beasley and Chris Haynes, agreed that they know about these incidents. Then Haynes also nodded in agreement when Lieberman spoke about how ‘racist’ the Hall of Fame coach, George Karl, was.

DeMarcus Cousins and George Karl had a tumultuous relationship

Nancy Lieberman was an assistant coach on George Karl‘s staff while he was at the Sacramento Kings. She was not exclusive to his staff, and went on to be a coach for another two seasons. She believes enough instances during her time with the Hall of Fame coach made her believe Karl is a ‘racist’.

George Karl wanted to trade DeMarcus Cousins away
George Karl wanted to trade DeMarcus Cousins away (Image via NBA on ESPN/X)

It so happens that DeMarcus Cousins was not appreciative of Karl ever since he was hired to be the Kings’ head coach. This might have played its part when the center nearly came to blows with Karl.

During his first offseason, George Karl was given authority to decide on his personnel. One of the first things he wanted to do was get rid of the mercurial center. Word got around, and the ownership got involved.

Owner Vivek Ranadive and then-vice president of basketball operations Vlade Divac did not approve. Had Karl gotten his way, Cousins could have been playing with Kobe Bryant, who would have been the perfect veteran to help the young center control his temper.

DeMarcus Cousins continues to have a tough time keeping his focus on basketball

DeMarcus Cousins eventually was traded away from the Kings and went on to play for 6 other teams. It was evident that injuries had slowed the once uber-talented center, and he was left to fight for bench minutes.

Then, without a job offer in the NBA, the Kentucky star went abroad, with stops in Puerto Rico and Taiwan. He most recently played for the Mets de Guaynabo, of Puerto Rico’s Baloncesto Superior Nacional league.

He was playing for them as of June 10th. But that was his final day with the team, after he lost his cool and was aggressively confronting fans. In retaliation, all the fans near the tunnel started throwing beer at him as he was being escorted out. Security had to restrain the center from engaging with those fans.

Security had to restrain him, as the 270lb center tried to get into the stands and fight them. He was eventually let go from the team and is now probably back in the States. His temper has been a problem for him throughout his career.

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