After delivering one of the most controversial post-game pressers ever, Fred VanVleet is fully remorseful for the words he spitted against the officiating of the Toronto Raptors’ Wednesday loss against the L.A. Clippers.
VanVleet admitted that frustration got way too ahead of him in the said heated moment while noting that he will take full accountability for his actions.
“I was a little emotional, tough loss & things not going our way, so I got caught up in the moment… I’m human,” VanVleet said, per TSN’s Josh Lewenberg. “You’ll see me make mistakes in real time. A little unprofessional for my standard. It’s unfortunate but it happened. You live and learn.
“I know the refs are trying their best… We’re gonna disagree at times. I think there are healthier ways to do it than what transpired last night. I take full accountability for my actions and what I said, but I think it’s a learning lesson for everybody.”
VanVleet erupted in his postgame availability, ripping the officiating and mainly targeting referee Ben Taylor while expressing his utmost disappointment on the state of officiating in the NBA this 2022-23 campaign.
Taylor, who was responsible for the guard’s three out of eight technical fouls this season, was walloped hard by VanVleet with his explicit and cursing words.
In the end, VanVleet is hoping that both sides will be able to learn from what happened, and his burst of emotion was just rooted in his passion for the game.
“I would like a little more leeway to be emotional & have a reaction (on court),” VanVleet added. “I’m very passionate and part of the reason why I said what I said is because I don’t necessarily care about the money in this instance… I’m leaving it all out there and it’s frustrating at times”
VanVleet was officially handed a $30K fine by the league after the incident.