Among the most troubling elements of these eventful past few days - the two-game suspensions of rookie Thomas Robinson and DeMarcus Cousins - is the ongoing silence of team basketballl president Geoff Petrie. It's not like Sacramento is a huge media market, with dozens of reporters making unreasonable demands or anything. Yet that fact continues to elude the Kings top bball people. Our beat writer, Jason Jones, left a message for Petrie on Sunday after Cousins' penalty for confronting Spurs analyst Sean Elliott was assessed, yet he never heard back. This is a one-newspaper town. How tough is that? (Petrie's voice wasn't heard on the Kings-Lakers telecast from the Staples Center a few hours later either, by the way).
So, ok, we are admittedly Bee-centric. But after practice today, we again asked team publicists if Petrie would address the situation, and were told he was not available. Several of the local media types - from print, television, and bloggers - grumbled openly, and in fact mocked the organization's inability to confront issues, only further diminishing Petrie's reputation. Coach Keith Smart once again was left to answer all the tough questions, and for the first time, he appeared stressed and irritated.
This, then, becomes the question: How can Petrie, as the longtime voice and face of the franchise, expect Robinson and Cousins and the other players to be held accountable when he refuses to .... be held accountable? This is leadership?
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