Marcus Smart: 'I've felt that officials had a personal vendetta, and numerous, too'
Even Kennedy laughed at the fact he was receiving cheers instead of boos for catching what would’ve been a fairly innocuous mistake, turning it into an exceedingly rare feel-good moment with an NBA ref — the kind of interaction Smart longs for but often feels is fleeting. “In my nine years, I definitely have had that where I’ve felt that officials had a personal vendetta, and numerous, too,” Smart said. “They have bad days, just like we do. So, it’s only fair to notice and understand and have empathy in the fact that sometimes they’re gonna let their emotions get the best of them and make calls and judgment calls the way that they officiate. It happens.”
Source: Jared Weiss @ The Athletic
Source: Jared Weiss @ The Athletic
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
New: Marcus Smart gave his two cents on Fred VanVleet’s rant from Wednesday night including a surprising admission about his past treatment from officials masslive.com/celtics/2023/0… – 1:26 PM
New: Marcus Smart gave his two cents on Fred VanVleet’s rant from Wednesday night including a surprising admission about his past treatment from officials masslive.com/celtics/2023/0… – 1:26 PM
Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
Marcus Smart is rocking a white robe with his name and jersey number on the back because why not – 10:10 PM
Marcus Smart is rocking a white robe with his name and jersey number on the back because why not – 10:10 PM
More on this storyline
Walking into Celtics practice Thursday, it was clear these words reverberated around the league. Everyone from the players to support staff and media were talking about it. “Did you see what Fred said,” must have been uttered 20 times. Marcus Smart certainly saw it. Nobody enjoyed it more. When players are upset after a game, they usually say, “I don’t want to get fined,” before saying something that’s going to get them fined. VanVleet said, “I’ll take a fine, I don’t really care.” By taking that fine, he’s opening the door for everyone else to curse out the refs in public under the guise of pleading the VanFifth. On Thursday night VanVleet was fined $30,000 by the NBA for his public criticism of the officiating. “I don’t know if you guys have seen Fred VanVleet’s interview, (but) that’s all I’m gonna say,” Smart said Thursday, before then saying more, of course. “Obviously, it let you know that I’m not speaking out of my butt. And I’m not the only one that feels that way. So, I’m gonna let Fred do all the talking.” -via The Athletic / March 10, 2023
Gary Washburn: Marcus Smart when asked about his constant foul trouble of late: “I don’t know if you guys seen Fred VanVleet’s interview. That’s all I’m going to say. That lets you know I’m not speaking out of my butt. I’m gonna let Fred do all the talking.” #Celtics #NBA -via Twitter @GwashburnGlobe / March 9, 2023