NBA official Jenna Reneau, Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets
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Referee Jenna Reneau #93 looks on during the game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Chicago Bulls at Barclays Center on November 01, 2024 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun has apologized to NBA official Jenna Reneau after he repeatedly called the female referee “a b—-” during a 114-93 loss to the Boston Celtics on Feb. 4.
The incident, which led to Sengun’s ejection, went viral on social media, with enhanced audio revealing the profanity he used against Reneau.
Senegun owned up to his “immature” gaffe after Saturday’s win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, admitting he had to be better.
“It was just the heat of the moment, and I said some stuff I shouldn’t have said,” Sengun said, via The Athletic’s William Guillory.
Rockets Star Owns Up
The Turkish big man revealed that he visited the NBA official after the game to apologize to her in person.
“I felt bad about it,” Sengun said. “Right after the game, I went to (the referees’) locker room. I (shook her) hand and apologized to her. That was immature by me. I should know better.”
“Sometimes, you can’t control yourself, but I should have known better,” Sengun said. “It just happened in the heat of the moment. Then, she understood, and it was good on both ends.”
Sengun was ejected at the 6:03 mark in the fourth quarter for protesting a non-call on his drive to the rim. After blowing past Luke Garza, he was denied at the rim by a helping Neemias Queta, prompting an angry reaction that he wasn’t sent to the foul line. The Rockets trailed by 25 points at the time of his ejection, and Sengun admitted that he lashed out at the NBA referee over his team’s poor performance.
Sengun Earns All-Star Nod
The Turkish big man has been named as a replacement for the injured Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, making him a two-time All-Star. He will slide into the vacant spot left by the reigning MVP SGA in Team World as part of the new NBA All-Star format.
Sengun, averaging 20.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, and a career-high 6.3 assists, was widely considered one of the biggest snubs when the All-Star reserves were announced last week. While the selections of first-time All-Stars Jamal Murray, Chet Holmgren and Deni Avdija were understandable, many felt Sengun should have been named an All-Star over LeBron James or even his teammate, Kevin Durant.
The 23-year-old spoke of his initial All-Star snub last week.
“It was disappointing for me, but it happens,” Sengun spoke of his All-Star snub, via BasketNews. “We have a lot of talents in the league, and I’m still young. I’m going to make it eventually, and it’s going to make me just work hard.
“I still have goals, I’ve got to make it, and stuff like this just always pushes me in a good way. I just got to work harder, be disciplined in what I’m doing, and hopefully I have a lot of years in the NBA and a lot of All-Stars I will make.”
The NBA could also be forced to name an All-Star replacement for Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has yet to be cleared to return from his calf strain.