Female Sacramento Kings reporters caught savaging 'f***ing annoying' player and stars' looks on hot mic

First-year Sacramento Kings forward Ben Simmons is ‘fine’ but ‘cringe,’ whereas his ‘cute’ teammate Zach LaVine seems like a ‘hell of a p****,’ according to media assembled around a hot mic at the team’s media day on Monday.

The viral clip contains voices from at least three yet-to-be-identified individuals, including two women and a man, none of whom appear to realize they’re being broadcast live across several feeds.

‘Ben Simmons,’ one woman began, ‘cringe, cringe, he’s lucky he’s fine.’

‘He’s a good-looking dude,’ another reporter agreed. ‘I didn’t notice his skin is so smooth. I was like, “damn, no tattoos?'”

The man’s voice then interjected, suggesting New Orleans Pelicans guard Jordan Poole was ‘more [her] type’ before mentioning LaVine, a two-time All-Star and former UCLA Bruins guard who led the 22-60 Kings in scoring last season.

‘Zach’s cute, but his personality f***ing annoys me,’ a reporter said. ‘He just seems like he’s hella like a p****.’

First-year Kings forward Ben Simmons is ‘fine’ but ‘cringe,’ according to local media

‘He’s a f***ing typical UCLA guy,’ the man agreed.

One woman said he was ‘beautiful’ before another suggested she would ‘put Ben above Zach’ on her aesthetic hierarchy.

The players have not responded to the commentary and the reporters in question have not been identified, although they did offer some potential clues to their identity.

Whoever described LaVine as ‘hella fine’ and ‘hella like a p****’ is almost certainly a local reporter, given the vernacular. The slang ‘hella’ originally emerged from the Bay Area in the 1970s, but has been adopted by younger generations throughout the state of California without gaining nationwide acceptance ever since.

The Daily Mail has sought comment from Kings spokespeople on Monday’s leaked exchange. 

Press conferences always come with the inherent danger of hot microphones, some of which can be connected to a live internet or cable feed.

Just a year ago, Toronto Raptors reporters were caught discussing team star Scottie Barnes over a hot mic. The audio was later published online and shared by Barnes with the caption: ‘Be chatting lol.’

One particularly regrettable comment referred to another Raptors player as ‘so dumb.’

More famously, in 2000, Republican presidential and vice-presidential candidates George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were heard disparaging a New York Times reporter over a hot mic.

Monday’s hot-mic was probably not the welcome the 30-year-old Simmons was hoping for after his sabbatical away from the NBA last season. The three-time All-Star’s career had been hamstrung by his notorious shooting woes and growing health concerns in recent years, but on Monday, he wholeheartedly disputed the claim he took a year off because he doesn’t love the game.

‘All these people talk about me not loving the game,’ he began, ‘that’s bulls***. People just want to get their podcast off. I love the game. That’s why I took a year off to focus on myself and get back to where I’m at. Now the old Ben has woken up. I want to dominate every time I step on the floor.’

The Kings return a very similar roster to the one that struggled under head coach Doug Christie last season. Outside of Simmons, who may not even crack Christie’s rotation, the biggest addition came through the draft in former Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr.

PART ONE: Every ugly detail of Tom and Gisele’s marriage… the secret letter stashed in a drawer… and her savage last three words 

PART TWO: Why Tom Brady’s college teammates were convinced he was gay… until one uninhibited night proved the truth: Secrets from his years before fame – and existential crisis that drove him to the brink