Nicolas Batum Punches Juan Carlos Navarro In The Groin During Olympics Game
20120808_180619 by nzamcdza
Nicolas Batum certainly made himself look bad in the 2012 Summer Olympics. The French forward took a swipe at the lower region of Juan Carlos Navarro. Somehow Batum was not ejected but he certainly did not win many fans with this move.
This play was just another ugly play in the game between France and Spain. The end turned into a rock fight with neither team able to make a basket and flopping became insane as teams tried to get to the free throw line. This was certainly the ugliest point of the basketball tournament so far.
For whatever reason, there have been a lot of attempts at dirty plays during these games. Players are not showing any respect for the game or for their opponent. If this took place in any professional league, Nicolas Batum would be suspended for multiple games. That is how bad this play is. It was a cheap shot and it has no place in the game of basketball.
France was upset that they are out of the Olympics but this was not the way to go out. If you win with class, you better lose with class as well. It looks like no one told Batum that. This play is just a bad way to leave the tournament and it will be the play that everyone is talking about.
Spain will move on and they still have a shot to medal. Navarro might be sore for a couple of days but this punch by Batum will certainly be the focus of a lot of sports talk for the coming weeks. There are times when a hard foul is good but a blatant punch to the groin of an opponent is an area that should be explored. The future kids of JCN will feel that for a while.
Riley Schmitt is a writer for Rant Sports.
