Come On Steph and Kevin, You’re Better Than That

I’m not a Warriors fan (I grew up near Portland, so I have that cross to bear), but my daughter is a big fan of the Dubs so the games are on in our home quite often. I usually miss them most nights but Saturday evening I caught the 4th quarter of the Golden State vs. Memphis Grizzlies matchup with my daughter. Unfortunately we had to witness a scene at the end that makes it harder for parents and teachers to explain the difference between how to — and how not to — handle adversity on the court.

Clearly it wasn’t the Warriors’ night. Steph missed a big chunk of the second half due to foul trouble and the team just couldn’t get over a 4th quarter deficit. So when he made a late driving layup but didn’t get what he thought (and replays showed indeed probably) was a foul by Memphis’s Mike Conley, Jr., what did Steph do?

He went ballistic, throwing his mouth piece in the direction of the referee. What unfolded next is not who Steph and Kevin are I am sure, but it’s what kids see and what they believe they can emulate in the heat of competition.

First, Steph got ejected for throwing his mouthpiece. Next, Durant flips off somebody (I couldn’t tell who, but it doesn’t really matter) and he gets the boot with Steph. Then the postgame interviews were low on contrition with both players coming across as brushing off what happened. Steph insinuating that if he were really throwing his mouthpiece at the ref he wouldn’t have missed him, and Durant joking that he was using his “ring finger” — a passing shot at reminding folks that it’s the Warriors who are the reigning NBA champs.

Really? This is how the Warriors want kids to view them when things don’t go well? It’d be great if kids could have seen who Curry and Durant really are during those waning moments in Memphis:

• Guys that don’t need to whine or complain if they don’t get the calls every night, nor who expect special treatment from officials as NBA champs;
• Guys who immediately and sincerely apologize if they lose their temper versus making light or humor of it, and who say they had a bad game and “we’re gonna get after it next time out” at the press conference;
• Guys who embrace how powerful their images are to kids around the world and who work extra hard to showcase the behavior I presume they would want their own kids to embody.

We’ve all seen these two amazing athletes in action and have heard them speak eloquently about how much they love their fans. They both do take seriously the “role model” thing. I’m willing to bet it won’t happen again like last night. But, if it does, I hope KD and Steph use it as a teachable moment for all their young fans who watch their every move — and listen to every sound bite they utter — on social media.