Fred VanVleet has been the backbone of the Toronto Raptors over the past couple of seasons. Overall, he was a large reason why the Raptors were able to win a championship back in 2019. He was the backup to Kyle Lowry, and there were some nights when he lit up the scoreboard. Subsequently, he has become the veteran voice of the Toronto Raptors, who have had some ups and down this season. Over the past few games, their ups and down have been at the mercy of the officials.
Against Denver, there was a situation in which Scottie Barnes was completely tossed from the game. Moreover, last night against the Clippers, the Raptors felt like they got completely hosed. Following the game, VanVleet decided to take to the podium where he went in on the referees. In the video down below, VanVleet made sure to lay it all out there. He ripped into head official Ben Taylor, while additionally giving us lots of profanity. It was an amazing rant that speaks to how frustrated the players are.
Fred VanVleet Doesn’t Hold Back
Fred VanVleet on tonight’s officiating, and more.pic.twitter.com/lap57HXYJN
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Sky Wob
“I’ll take a fine, I don’t really care. I thought Ben Taylor was f—ing terrible tonight. For most nights, out of the three [officials] there’s one or two that just f— the game up,” VanVleet said. “It’s been like that a couple games in a row. Denver was tough, obviously. You come out tonight competing pretty hard, in the third quarter, I get a bulls—t tech, [it] changes the whole dynamic of the game, changes the whole flow of the game. Furthermore, VanVleet said that the officials are trying too hard to be the stars of the game when the fans just want to see the players.
Overall, this is a rant that is going to get VanVleet fined. However, this is something that needed to be said. NBA officiating has been ridiculous this season, and it is cool to see a player stand up for themselves in this way. Although, it will also be interesting to see how much the league fines him as these are uncharted waters.
[Via]