Not Your Typical Foul

When you are constantly reading sports articles you are bound to come across one that is particularly eye-catching. This morning I came across just such a story. In an NBA game between the Utah Jazz and the defending champion Dallas Mavericks yesterday, Mavericks backup guard Delonte West was whistled for a technical foul. NBD (No big deal, if you aren’t hip with the young person’s lingo these days) right? I mean the offense wasn’t the first of West’s NBA career, nor was it deserved of a lengthy suspension, he simply did something I never dreamed I would see in a million years in the course of an NBA game. During a stoppage in play, in the second quarter of yesterday’s contest, West raised his arm up to second year forward for the Jazz, Gordon Hayward, and gave him a wet-willie.

No reason to rub your eyes, you read that last line correctly. West, after being called for a foul on Hayward, decided that his best course of action was to lick his index finger and then place it directly into Hayward’s ear. Although Hayward, the second year player out of Butler University, looks like a 6’9’’ pre-pubescent man-child we are still talking about two grown men here. Wet-willie’s should be a universally accepted taboo the second we leave elementary school. The fact that West turned to this particular response speaks to his overall lack of maturity. The 8 year veteran should know  how to better handle his emotions on the court, but more than that, he should have a better understanding of how to deal with others in the grand scheme of things.

*This is a great clip showing what transpired

I’m not trying to get completely serious with this story, it’s actually pretty funny. This was about as harmless as technical fouls go. Hayward’s ear is completely fine and West was clearly not doing this maliciously. Who would have expected to see one man give another man a wet-willie when they started watching the game?  I would wager a guess that nobody saw this coming and for that reason it’s an eye-catcher. I just won’t be as surprised in the future if Delonte West puts someone in a headlock and gives them a good ole’ fashioned noogie.