On January 2nd, Beijing time, Zhao Rui unleashed a full-frontal assault without discrimination, bumping into referees and firing at fans, even causing head coach Liu Wei to be unable to save face.
In the match between Xinjiang and Shandong, Zhao Rui openly collided with the referee, which can be said to have completely crossed the bottom line of the CBA. Previously, Bradley waved his fist at Ma Yong and was suspended for four games, while Du Runwang was suspended for five games for punching the opponent. Zhao Rui is essentially hitting the referee directly, so how can he not be banned or dealt with?
More importantly, he is not only angry with the referees but has also started to take heavy blows at the fans, which is really incomprehensible. Who provoked Zhao Rui, and why does he confront everyone he meets? In the comment section, netizens responded to Zhao Rui's behavior of colliding with the referee, saying, "He simply doesn't want to play." Is this fan's IP from Shanghai? Upon seeing it, Zhao Rui directly cursed at the fan, "Shanghainese, don't want to play **."
This is no longer just about confronting the referee; it has escalated to cursing at fans and engaging in regional blackening, directly launching a geographical attack. How dare Zhao Rui use such words? What does he think he's doing? A national team player actually dares to openly engage in regional blackening—where does he get his confidence?
The key point is, when Zhao Rui curses "Shanghainese," did he forget one thing: their head coach is from Shanghai? Is he targeting the fans or Liu Wei? Netizens who see his behavior think he doesn't want to play, which is actually quite normal. After all, in the first quarter, after playing for only more than six minutes, you go up and fiercely chase after the referee, then collide with them—aren't you just asking to be ejected? What about the next three quarters?
Zhao Rui then starts attacking fans in this way. What does he think he's doing? Does he really have a conflict with the Shanghai team, or is it with head coach Liu Wei? Not only that, but Zhao Rui also openly calls Xinjiang fans "spoons," which is also a local term of abuse, and even says he wants to beat up fans.
After spraying Xinjiang fans, he goes on to spray Shanghai fans, dragging the head coach into the fray. Confronting the referees is one thing, but now he's directly clashing with online fans and netizens, engaging in regional discrimination. What does Zhao Rui think he's doing? Does he still want to play for the Xinjiang team? His current behavior of exploding and leaving the court after only three minutes on the field not only affects the game but, more importantly, affects the mentality of his teammates.
With a super top salary of 6 million, higher than any of his teammates, he's now doing this kind of thing. How do his teammates feel about it? It's easy to question whether he wants to play for his head coach Liu Wei. Directly cursing "Shanghainese," who is he targeting? Now he's deleted the comments, but it's too late; everyone has seen the screenshots.