One of the less glamorous moments of the 2012 London Olympic basketball tournament came when Nicolas Batum punched Juan Carlos Navarro in the crotch during the quarterfinal match up between France and Spain. The punch was unexpected but what may surprise you even more is the Trail Blazer forward’s description of what has happened since the Olympics.
I got some bad things, trust me. [But] people all around the world, on Twitter, or media, or people, even coaches and players from the other teams, thanked me.
Wait a minute, people thanked Batum for punching another player in the gear during the Olympics? Really?
Batum expanded on the comment to leave no doubt he meant what he said.
I won’t say what they told me, but trust me a lot of people thanked me. I won’t say, but they just thanked me. Trust me, a lot, a lot of people. Not especially from France but from everywhere. I won’t say that’s good. I’m not happy or glad about it.
For his part Batum claims his crotch-punching days are over but only time will tell.
That’s not good what I’ve done, especially with young kids watching. I won’t do it again.
Nice to hear he won’t be doing it again but basketball players everywhere, and Juan Carlos Navarro in particular, should be seriously alarmed that crotch-punching is now something a guy can get thanked for.
H/T to BlazersEdge
