Evaluating Character in Sports - The Case of DeMarcus Cousins - Basketball Character vs. Personal Character

BYU's Brandon Davies got suspended for an honor code violation.  Washington State's Klay Thompson suspended for 1 game because of marijuana possession charge.  Sports Illustrated is doing an expose on "College Football and Crime."  I could go on and on about the decisions that high school, college, and pro teams have to make throughout a given season with issues involving character. One thing for certain, coaches and administrators need to formulate a philosophy for how they're going to deal with transgressions of character.

DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento King's burly center/forward is a player who has known character issues. The only reason he slipped to the Kings was because teams had concerns about his character. On 3/16/10 I responded to a comment @RealSkipBayless made on twitter: "GMs tell me Cousins best big man to come along in several years - size, strength, skill. But afraid of roller-coaster emotions, attitude."

My response: "Skip is actually buying what a GM is telling him. This is what is called a disinformation campaign. As I've said - GMs will sell their soul to get a player like Cousins. As Deion Sanders (paraphrase) said during the NFL sports combine about talented players who have questionable character, they're enough egos in the room that believe they or their organization will be the difference maker in regard to a player like Cousins."

Cousins was suspended early in the NBA season and recently had an altercation with a teammate that resulted in a fine, but no suspension.  On 2/13/11 I wrote the following take on DeMarcus Cousins being taken off  the Kings' plane: @bomani_jones said "Cousins isn't a criminal or a fool, he's not going to jail. THAT would worry me. Impulse control? we can work on that."

"I'm going to piggyback off Bo's wise words and also give you insight into how Geoff Petrie thinks. Geoff once said (paraphrasing) to me that the character of an athlete is important, but that he places more value on a player's "basketball character" than his "personal character." That flies in the face of the way a lot of GMs think, but it's also a realistic way to evaluate NBA personnel. Most athletes aren't angels. Society tries to paint them in this manner, but the reality is that most elite athletes have a "mean streak" in them. That's why they're at the top. Some of them just mask it better than others.

What was Cousins' mad about? Ask yourself that question. He was mad about not getting the ball in crunch time because he felt he could have won the game. His anger was misplaced toward his teammate, Donte Green (watch the play - Greens vision is obscured because a King cuts between him & Cousins and he makes the safe inbound pass to Evans.) As a GM, I would not be happy about how he channeled his anger, but I would be happy about the cause/root of it. Cousin wants to win. It's obvious he loves to compete. He has the mean streak that I like to see in players. He wants to be the man. He thinks he can make it happen. He plays hard, has a skill set that will enable him to be a dominant post presence in the NBA for years to come. The Kings ain't getting rid of Cousins or Evans. That's why you have coaches, to teach and get guys to understand how to work and live together.

I'm not privy to what's happening in the Kings organization. Geoff is a smart and realistic GM. I'm certain that he will look at Cousins past incidents, listen to valued people in his organization and make a decision that will cause DeMarcus to think about his recent actions. It is about impulse control and how you channel that anger in a positive manner. It's about teaching DeMarcus how to communicate and utilize words to accomplish his objectives instead of creating a wedge by them. It's about anger management. It's about putting him with a psychologist who can help him with these life skills.

Should Geoff suspend him? Maybe, but I know whatever he does, it will be well thought out and in the best interests of DeMarcus. Because what is best for DeMarcus, will be what is best for the Kings in the long run.

Side note - I was raised in a basketball organization that valued character. I worked with the Chicago Bulls for 11 years. Personal character does matter, but every organization should strike a balance between "basketball character" vs. "personal character" in determining if an athlete fits on their team. The Bulls had high "personal character" guys, but also valued "basketball character" over "personal character" if an athlete could help them accomplish their team goals. I'll give you one example, there are others. Dennis Rodman. Do I need to say more?