DeMarcus Cousins Suspended: Why it's a bad look for the BSN

Former NBA All-Star DeMarcus Cousins was suspended for the rest of the 2025 BSN season. The aftermath might be troubling for attracting more NBA talent to the league.

Monday night was the last time DeMarcus Cousins will step onto the court in a Guaynabo Mets jersey. Cousins got into an altercation with a courtside heckler during the team’s 101-91 loss against the Bayamon Vaqueros. An already ticked off Cousins responded to the heckler’s “crybaby” gestures walking up to him and gesturing with his lower member. The fan reacted with middle fingers, they made contact and Cousins almost gave him the business before people stepped in the way. Cousins was ejected, and to add insult to injury, had drinks thrown at him by rowdy fans while walking to the exit.

The league, the BSN (Baloncesto Superior Nacional), declared its verdict the day after: DeMarcus Cousins was suspended for the remainder of the 2025 season and fined a total of $10,000 with a chance to appeal $5,750 of the fine. Subsequently, the Guaynabo Mets cut Cousins from their team. The team currently sits at 9-19, having fired head coach JJ Barea earlier in the season.

DeMarcus arrived at Guaynabo in 2023 and had a successful season before getting injured in game 6 of the seminfinals against the Carolina Gigantes. Cousins’ contract was later traded to the Vaqueros in 2024, a year where he spent time playing for the Taiwan Beer Leopards of the T1 League, where he won Finals MVP. Finally, the Vaqueros traded the contract back to Guaynabo earlier in 2025 before he returned to the BSN in May after his stint with the Selenge Bodons of The League in Mongolia.

On the other side, the league ordered the Vaqueros to suspend the courtside fan involved in the fight, bar any additional fans that tossed beverages from the remaining home games, and to beef up security courtside and in the exit where Cousins was showered. Failing to prevent another incident will result in being removed from their arena, the Ruben Rodriguez coliseum, nicknamed “El Rancho”, and obligated to play home games in a different venue.

This is a harrowing situation for the league, which has grown in the past couple of years and has attracted a lot of international and NBA players. Players like Hassan Whiteside, Javale McGee, Danilo Gallinari, the aforementioned Cousins and many more have brought their talents to the island and given the fans a show. But Monday’s situation and aftermath highlight a broader issue regarding the teams and the loyalty to their players.

Before that, let’s address the fans. Fanbases get rowdy. Sitting for a game and heckling opposing players as they either struggle against or dominate your team is part of the experience of being a fan. Puerto Rican fans are no different. They are passionate and will be raucous. But ultimately, you cannot control people’s actions, regardless of the presence of alcohol. Sadly, many fans will not be as respectful, and some of them will be sitting courtside as a fight waiting to happen. This is the long time issue of having fans so close to the action with courtside seating.

Regarding Cousins, this is not a defense of his actions. But and the fact that he got disrespected by the crowd in such fashion and then cut by his team is a terrible look for a league who wants all the star power it can get. Cousins is one of the biggest names to arrive to the league in recent memory, or ever (Phil Jackson’s bigger, but he coached in the league before joining the Bulls). The team not sticking out for him and ditching him swiftly shows a lack of loyalty that can dissuade others from joining the league.

Will this be an isolated incident? Most likely, but the reaction from the league and team leaves a sour taste in my mouth. The response demonstrates an attitude of punishment rather than a desire to protect its players. It is alienating, which is the opposite of what a growing league wants.