DeMarcus Cousins Gets Fondled by a Pelican

Basketball is most certainly a contact sport.

However, on some occasions players may become uncomfortably intimate.

Recently, the New Orleans Pelicans were visiting Sacramento to take on the Kings, and things got a little weird midway through the second quarter.

DeMarcus Cousins was in the process of setting a perfectly appropriate screen when Buddy Hield got all handsy.

And a good day to you, sir!

That defensive maneuver can best be described as unconventional.

Hield received an automatic ejection from the game for his efforts, despite claiming the grab and hold was unintentional.

Sure, dude.

Meanwhile, Boogie was already in the midst of a rough night, having picked up his league-high 17th technical foul earlier in the game for smacking a Pelican in the face.

Cousins is understandably frustrated, so getting molested on the court was probably not ideal for him at that particular moment.

Hield likely would have gotten away with it had Boogie not explicitly told the referee what had happened.

Perhaps the lesson here is to simply avoid pelicans all together.

They appear to get hostile when provoked.