DeMarcus Cousins was called for a technical foul for tossing a rogue sneaker off the court during the Golden State Warriors victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday, but that tech has now been rescinded.
NBA has rescinded DeMarcus Cousins' technical from last night. Players generally aren't allowed to toss a shoe off the floor, but DeMarcus did it to avoid an injury to himself and others
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) February 26, 2019
The sneaker - which had come off the foot of one of the Hornets players - was hanging out near the elbow, where it was in danger of being stepped on. Cousins picked it up and tossed it into the sideline courtside seat.
He was immediately T’d up by a referee who believed the act had been malicious, rather than for safety.
Cousins was justifiably upset. This is, after all, a player who lost out on roughly $150 million because of a lower body injury he sustained a year ago. You can be sure he has no interest in taking the risk of stepping on a large shoe and hurting himself once again. And he said as much after the game, sarcastically stating that “next time I’ll just step on the shoe and roll my ankle, break it, tear an Achilles.”
Demarcus Cousins was not happy after getting a tech late in the 4th quarter for throwing a shoe off the court. pic.twitter.com/hEF5zVBANu
— ESPN (@espn) February 26, 2019
It’s obviously a very good thing that the league decided to rescind the technical. Boogie didn’t toss the shoe violently or deep into the stands - players need to be able to keep a clear and safe court, and certainly shouldn’t be punished for that.