Nicolas Batum punches Juan Carlos Navarro in the nuts, later apologizes
Every Olympiad is known for some hallmark events. Beijing was known for Michael Phelps going 8-for-8 in gold medals; Atlanta saw the Magnificent Seven win it all with Kerri Strug hobbling on one leg; and Los Angeles was dominated by Carl Lewis’ four golds in track and field.
What will the London Games be remembered for? You could say Phelps, who won six medals in his final Olympics, or Usain Bolt, who maintained his status as the fastest man in the world. But I think I know the real answer: it’s the nut shots.
First there was Carmelo Anthony getting smacked in the twig and gig by an Argentina player, and on Wednesday it was Spain’s Juan Carlos Navarro getting the nut shot treatment from France’s Nicolas Batum:
France was down by six with 23 seconds left when Batum turkey tapped JC (and really, you never want to mess with someone with the initials of JC), showing us that proper sportsmanship is still a high priority for the French. Spain won the game 66-59 and advances to face Russia in the semifinals. Batum at least apologized via Twitter after the game:
I want to apologize for my stupid act at the end, I showed a bad image of France and myself, Congrats to team Spain.
— Nicolas Batum (@nicolas88batum) August 8, 2012
It’s hard to take that as too genuine, considering Batum had earlier told Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski that he smacked Navarro “to give him a good reason to flop.”
Frustration overcomes us all at times, and apparently Batum is no different. Only most of us don’t resort to low blows.
GIF via BuzzFeed Sports
