Watch Raptors’ Fred VanVleet blast referees in NSFW rant after Clippers loss

While complaining about officiating losing the game can often be seen as a weak excuse by a team that was outplayed, even the biggest Toronto Raptors hater can acknowledge that this team has been on the wrong end of some tragic performances. Fred VanVleet has to watch Scott Foster and Ben Taylor rip wins away from his team.

In a loss to the Denver Nuggets, Foster ejected Scottie Barnes after missing a few calls that would have benefitted the Raptors and aided the Western Conference stalwarts. The story stayed the same against the Los Angeles Clippers, as Toronto was in foul trouble all night long.

While the outcome of the game had more to do with poor play on the offensive end, VanVleet was not going to simply be silent after he believed that he and his team were wronged by officiating. His post-game press conference is an all-timer, as he was genuinely distraught.

VanVleet took a hit to the wallet, saying that referee Ben Taylor was “f—ing terrible” and added that he “f—ed the game up.” VanVleet called his technical foul “bulls–t” and implied that the refs were “di–s.” His final salvo was the correct notion that fans do not come to the arena to see referees take the game over.

Toronto Raptors PG Fred VanVleet ripped officials in an NSFW rant.

While Foster’s personal beef with Chris Paul is well documented, Taylor and VanVleet might be reaching similar levels. VanVleet has played in six games that Taylor has reffed this season, and he has been assigned a technical foul in four of them, including twice in a loss against the Pelicans.

While VanVleet certainly plays the game with an admirable degree of passion, very rarely, if ever, turns into such open hostility. Whatever Taylor has been doing has clearly riled up VanVleet to the point where he was willing to lash out against him in a demonstrative fashion.

Part of this frustration has to stem from the fact that the Raptors have been declining in productivity and effectiveness over the last few games, which is very inopportune considering how some of their play-in rivals have improved.

VanVleet and Taylor might be reaching Paul/Foster levels of animosity between one another, as I find it hard to believe that VanVleet only chooses to go into bombastic rages whenever Taylor is officiating a game. VanVleet will take a hit to the wallet, but it doesn’t seem like he cares.