Updated at 5:10 PM PT
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwUbx5XVhpk&w=560&h=315]Following Thursday practice, Thomas Robinson apologized for actions that earned him a two-game suspension. With 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Sacramento Kings forward threw a vicious elbow to the neck of Detroit Pistons forward Jonas Jerebko and was ejected from last nights 105-103 win at Sleep Train Arena.
“I feel worst today after the aftermath,” Robinson remorsefully told reporters. “You know, I knew I was wrong. So as a man, I have to take responsibility with that and I’ll take my consequences and move on.”
Kings head coach Keith Smart called Robinson “a quality young man” who was aware of his mistake.
“If he can replay that whole situation, he would do it and move in a different direction,” Smart said.
Robinson will miss the Kings’ next two games against the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers due to suspension. Below are the rookie forward’s comments to the media regarding last night’s incident.
On whether his perception of the incident changed.
Not at all. I was wrong. I was 100 percent at fault. And I didn’t have a change of mind of anything.
On what teammates and coaches said to him after the game about the foul.
I just gotta be smarter with my decisions. And it was a bad decision; it was a bad choice that I made. You know I made it already. I can’t change it. If I could I would, it’s something I have to live with and I’ll move on from here.
On whether he’s ever lost his cool like this before.
Not at all. Unfortunately, I’m not perfect. I would love to be, but I made a mistake. It rarely happens to me. Never been in that type of situation before. I’ve never been ejected from a game or anything of that sort of matter. So I definitely take full responsibility and I apologize to the whole organization, fans and anybody who were supporting me. It won’t happen again.
On if trash talk from Jerebko led to the incident.
Just frustration. It’s nothing he did. Chirping is a part of the game, talk is a part of the game. And that’s something that I have to adjust to, that I have to learn to. These guys are professional whether its trash talking, whatever – they’re pros. It got under my skin. I let it get to me, so it was a mistake.
Geoff Petrie, Wayne Cooper and Shareef Abdur-Rahim all spoke to Robinson before he met with media following practice. On what the members of Kings front office told him:
That you have to learn how to control your emotions. And like I said, I’m pretty good with it usually. But I’m on a different level and somehow, he found a way to do something nobody ever did to me. And that was get under my skin and like I said, I take full responsibility.
On if he got a chance to talk to Jerebko after the game.
I didn’t get a chance to. Once you get ejected, you can’t come back in. So you know if I could, I would. I apologize to him. I hope everything is okay with whatever area I attacked on him.
On whether Jerebko was getting physical and was trash talking.
It’s just a part of the game. Whatever he did, it’s a part of the game. It’s something I fell for.
On how he feels today.
I feel pretty bad today. I feel worst today after the aftermath. You know I knew I was wrong. So as a man, I have to take responsibility with that and I’ll take my consequences and move on. And hopefully this doesn’t stick with me because I’m not that type of person. I’m not a bad kid, you know I just made a mistake and it won’t happen again.
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