Dillon Brooks Blames Fans and Media For The Villain Label

Dillon Brooks was ejected from the game for a flagrant foul 2 in the third quarter. Up to that point, Brooks had seven points and 2 rebounds on 23% shooting and was one for five from three. Brooks was called for the flagrant 2 for hitting LeBron James in the groin. Brooks chose not to speak to the media after the loss but has spoken on the incident after the team"s practice today.

Brooks Blames The Fans and Media

Dillon Brooks did finally speak to the media regarding the ejection after the team"s practice today, “The media is making me a villain, the fans are making me a villain and then that just creates a whole different persona on me." Brooks continued, “So now you think I intended to hit LeBron James in the nuts? I"m playing basketball. I"m a basketball player. So if I intended and that"s whatever is in the flagrant 2 category, if you think I did that, that means you think I"m that type of person." Brooks led the NBA with 18 technical fouls this season, you can decide if it was intentional or not, the video of the incident is below.

Brooks was then asked about the news of Brooks not facing a suspension after the review by the NBA, reported by ESPN"s Adrian Wojnarowski. Brooks responded, “I knew I wasn"t going to be, they can"t dictate this series like that. Marc [Davis, Crew Chief] probably had to call that because of what happened [in Game 3 of the 76ers, Nets series] with James Harden, and that"s just unfair. I get penalized, and I can"t help my team try to make a comeback in the second half. I"ve been dealing with this for two years now."

LeBron James Comments

Brooks made headlines after their game two victory to even the series. Brooks was asked about the verbal confrontations throughout the game with LeBron James.

“I don"t care, he"s [James] old. Do you know what I mean? I was waiting for that. I was expecting him to do that in Game 4, Game 5. He wanted to say something when I got my fourth foul. He should have been saying that earlier on. But I poke bears. I don"t respect no one until they come and give me 40." Brooks said about the all-time scoring leader and future Hall of Famer.

James finally opened up a bit about the antics between himself and Brooks, speaking to the media after their game three win, “No it wasn’t private because everybody caught it, everybody saw it. There was nothing private about it. It was very, very public. I like it that way." James said regarding their pregame conversation. James then explained how it was nothing new to him, "This is not my first rodeo. I had this throughout my career with certain individuals. It’s easy. It’s literally easy."

James initially said he wasn"t here for the “bulls***" when asked about Brooks" trash talk in their game two loss but now James has said “My resume and what I’ve done for this league speaks for itself. I don’t really get caught up with any comments like that. At the end of the day, my focus is on my teammates and us trying to figure out how to beat the Memphis Grizzlies."

LeBron James finished the game three win with 25 points on 50% shooting, nine rebounds, and five assists. What do you make of the Brooks ejection, is it fair that he"s only blaming the media and fans, should he blame himself? Let us know in the comments below!

Featured Image Credit: Getty Images