Owner weighs in after fiery coach, player clash

One of the main storylines to come out of Sunday’s emphatic win by Sydney over South East Melbourne was the war of words between Brian Goorjian and Owen Foxwell.

During the second quarter at John Cain Arena, Foxwell looked to make a comment towards the Kings coach, albeit inaudible on broadcast microphones, resulting in Goorjian firing back with a series of expletives.

Following the game, Phoenix coach Josh King was displeased with Goorjian’s actions.

“It’s very disappointing … a guy (Goorjian) that everybody looks up to in this league,” King said post-game.

“I’m not trying to make headlines, but coach Goorjian telling one of our players ‘f you’ three times in a row is just uncalled for.

“It’s really surprising for a guy that’s done everything he’s done in his career to think it’s OK to tell an opposing player ‘f you’ three times … that’s very disappointing and it’s not right.”

But six-time NBL champion Goorjian was quick to defend himself.

“If something’s said to you, I’m going to say something back,” Goorjian said.

“If they want to give me a technical, they can give me a technical, but he tells me what he said, I’m coming right back at him.

“I don’t just go at a player. I went there, and he said something, and I went right back at him.

“I’m not going to go down what I said, but I know what he said to me and I’m not going to repeat it, and I went right back in his face. I’ve been in it 40 years, I don’t just start calling guys names.

“He’s over by the bench, and he’s telling me what to do in my space … my job is to protect my team … if he wants to go there, he’s going to get a mouthful back.”

The war of words didn’t stop there, though, with Phoenix owner Romie Chaudhari weighing in via X, while also commenting on an apparently post-game tunnel altercation between King and Kendric Davis (in a second tweet).

“Not sure why such a respected coach would need to step on the court and call a 22yr old player a "bitch" during the game ... I'll take the high road and just say he's old enough and experienced enough to act better in that situation,” Chaudahri said via X.

"Funny how Goorj won't actually say what Foxy said, he's had every opportunity to do so and he hasn't, because he knows the truth ... and funny how the microphones apparently have selective hearing (heard Goorj loud and clear, but nothing from Foxy) ... also, some folks are saying our coach confronted KD in the tunnel, couldn't be further from the truth, it was the other way around ... a broadcaster left mid-press conference to go snitch to KD, which then incited that whole "confrontation" in the tunnel, a confrontation initiated by KD.

"Let's see how this is addressed in the aftermath ... unfortunately, there is a "good 'ol boys club" mentality that is ever prevalent, so I won't hold my breath."

Chaudhari wasn’t the only one to take to social media post-game either, with Kings forward Torrey Craig chiming in.

“He (Foxwell) said something to coach first ... It’s all good competition, I’ve heard worse," Craig said via Instagram.

All of this adds to the growing rivalry between two of the competition’s heavyweights, who will battle for top spot over the final two rounds of the regular season.

Round 21 action tips off on Thursday night from 7.30pm AEDT, when Cairns host Melbourne live on ESPN.