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Toronto Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet went absolutely scorched earth on the NBA’s referees during his press conference on Wednesday night following the Raptors’ 108-100 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Not only did VanVleet criticize the officiating, but he specifically singeled out referee Ben Taylor, which is something you rarely hear from NBA players.
“I don’t mind, I’ll take a fine, I don’t really care,” VanVleet said. “I thought Ben Taylor was f—ing terrible tonight. I think that on most nights, you know out of the three [officials], there’s one or two that just f— the game up. It’s been like that a couple of games in a row,” VanVleet told the media.
“[Losing on Monday at] Denver was tough, obviously. You come out tonight, competing pretty hard, and I get a bulls— tech that changes the whole dynamic of the game, changed the whole flow of the game.”
VanVleet did, however, mention that he understands that most refs are “trying hard”:
“Most of the refs are trying hard. I like a lot of the refs, they’re trying hard, they’re pretty fair and communicate well. And then you got the other ones who just want to be d—s and just kind of f— the game up. And no one’s coming to see that s—. They come to see the players.”
You can listen to VanVleet make the comments for himself below:
Fred VanVleet went OFF on referee Ben Taylor and NBA reffing in general in his post-game after the Raptors loss. Haven't heard anything like this. pic.twitter.com/VcMkGTh0k3
— Faizal Khamisa (@FaizalKhamisa) March 9, 2023
Given VanVleet’s highly-critical comments, it’s only a matter of time until the NBA hands him a hefty fine.
At this time, the Raptors are currently the 9th seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 32-35, which is good enough to earn them a berth in the play-in tournament.
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