Former All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins was known for both his outstanding play and volatility during his time with the Sacramento Kings . It seems Cousins' short fuse almost twice led to him beating up then-Kings coach George Karl.
In episode 6 of Big 3 , former WNBA player and NBA assistant coach Nancy Lieberman revealed that Cousins almost fought Karl twice. She also said that the former Kings' coach, in her view, is one of the most racist people she's ever been around.
"Two times in the locker room, he tried to beat up George Karl….That's why he's not given a chance because that coach's circle is no joke. I thought George was one of the most racist, I sat in the meetings, it was unbeleivable. Ask Carmelo."
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Cousins had a good relationship with head coach Michael Malone, who earned his trust over a long period of time after the former first-round pick had issues with the previous Kings' coach. However, following an 11-13 start to the 2014-'15 season, Malone was fired by team ownership.
Sacramento replaced him with Karl in February 2015. The former Denver Nuggets coach was brought in to try and help turn the team around, with ownership hoping he could build a working relationship with Cousins. Instead, the two became the center of internal strife .
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Lieberman worked in Sacramento during Karl's tenure (2015-16), serving as an assistant coach. It's during that time she says that Cousins nearly "beat up" Karl twice in the locker room, which allegedly had a lot to do with what she called Karl's racism.
She isn't the only person who has been around Karl during his coaching career that criticized his character. Following the release of Karl's book Furious George , in which Karl called Carmelo Anthony and Kenyon Martin ' AAU babies ' who were 'immature' and 'insecure' and Karl largely blamed it on their fatherless upbringings.
While Anthony has tried to take the high road with his public comments about Karl, saying he just hopes his former coach finds happiness , Martin has called Karl a "horrible person" who is "ugly as s*** on the inside." Karl still seems to have a lot of respect from many of his coaching peers, but his reputation among players and some assistant coaches is very different.
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