Brooks: ‘I set a poor example’ with ejection
Coach wants to curb number of technical fouls
WASHINGTON — Scott Brooks walked into the interview room Saturday night a bit famished but finally calm. That extra alone time in his office had cooled his rage.
Brooks has a certain charm, but he coaches close to the edge.
Before every home matchup, Brooks walks to the floor with the same Capital One Arena security escort, the pair always seeming to share a laugh, then he gives her a dap when the game is over. In the two hours or so between those walks, Brooks transforms into the fiery, sometimes foul-mouthed, coach of the Washington Wizards.
In the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s 117-113 loss to the Toronto Raptors, Brooks disagreed with a call and aggressively stepped onto the court toward an official. This led to an ejection and in speaking to reporters following the game, the coach, who has often chastised players for not keeping their composure, rebuked himself.
“It was a combination of a lot of things that I saw and then the frustration built up,” Brooks said in explaining howhe received the first ejection of his 10-season head coaching career. “But it’s something that I’ve been talking with all our guys, that we got to play through whatever we think that’s against us. Just play through it. Quite honestly, I set a poor example. I’m disappointed in myself.”
With 7:04 remaining, the Wizards descended into chaos. Wizards coach Scott Brooks talks with Otto Porter Jr., left, and Austin Rivers, right, during a preseason game. The Wizards ranked fourth in technical fouls last season.
Washington trailed the Raptors by 10 when John Wall was ruled out of bounds while recovering a ball. In expressing his displeasure with the call, Beal received a technical foul.
“In referee situations, we try not to get emotional. I think we did a good job of staying poised the whole game, but some things just get out of hand,” Beal said. “I disagree with the call on John — he got tripped. The referee told me that I ran up on him, so he called a technical foul. I guess he felt threatened in one way or another. Next thing I know, Coach Brooks is gone.”
The Wizards sideline mirrored Beal’s reaction as players spilled onto the floor and griped that Wall was pushed. At the head of the bench, Brooks led the parade of complaints.
The situation between Brooks and the referees escalated quickly and lead official James Williams signaled to the scorers’ table the gesture that someone had been tossed.
“[Brooks] was ejected for approaching the official in an aggressive manner while using foul language, vulgarity,” Williams said in a brief interview with a pool reporter.
Last season, the Wizards ranked fourth in the league in technical fouls (64), a number Brooks said he would like to curb coming into this season. When teammates get caught up in expressing frustration over calls, the negative energy can affect their play.
Last season, Brooks shared how his daughter got on him for his technical fouls. On Saturday, Brooks didn’t reveal if he had been reprimanded by his teenager. His personal disappointment was enough punishment.
Brooks, however, did not make light of his actions. Though he has preached self-control to his players, Brooks indicated that he must practice those very lessons.
“I got to be able to be better than that and not worry about a call or a few calls and just focus,” he said.