Dirt poor F

CEBU, Philippines —  Stephen Curried the golden warriors to the western conference finals against the LA Lakers with a career-high 50 points, a new NBA record for most points in a decider. It accounted for almost half the score that nailed the sacrament of death to the kings. But the highly-anticipated playoff that promises to be the virtual final between two aging teams led by the scoring machine and the one-man machine is however preceded by three ugly fights in this basketbrawl season.

Another sidelight took center stage in the heated game between the Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors late March. It should have been the highlight that dimmed all lights if fans focus on sports integrity and propriety, especially how the players behave on court. Luka Doncic was fined for rubbing his fingers together towards officials. The money gesture accusatory of bribery cost him a lot of money - $35,000. This after he missed a layup and messed up his frustration for what he believed was a foul that escaped the owl.

The Mavs narrowly lost, 127-125, but the referee did not lose his cool and opted to not technically foul Doncic out. It could have been his 16th technical foul of the season, bad enough for a one-game suspension without pay. Of course the amount equivalent to around 2 million pesos does not deplete his pocket. The 6’7” Slovenian is under a multi-million dollar 5-year contract with the Mavericks. Exactly why he had been flashing the same money gesture several times over unscathed. That’s loose change for a guy who earns around $40 million dollars a year, why would he loosen up and change?

Had he just stuck and not rubbed his fingers together, they would have resembled heart and meant love altogether. That’s how the slightest change in body language make a whole world of difference. Just like how people greet others. A smile is pleasing although not necessarily sincere while a smirk is sarcastic, a nod down is respectful and a nod up is confident but more often arrogant. Or, that only those with moral ascendancy tap the shoulder of another for doing a good job, not the other way around. The lower ranked should never say good job to the boss as a compliment, he did not do it to begin with, the subordinate did, as his implement. There’s deep, tricky meaning to every gesture, depending on culture.

The Dallas point guard however not only disrespected the referees, he also looked down on them. Question though, would he been that financially judgmental had the officials been richer than him? He thought they could be bought because he knows he earns way more than they do. But regardless of worth, not everyone can be bought, although when someone is bribed and says you can’t buy them, in reality it means you can’t buy them cheap. Everyone has a price, but not everyone sells. Many do, and they are not content with sales, still they steal. In stealth.