Any Time An Athlete Appears

ANY TIME AN ATHLETE APPEARS to be putting his desires above team goals, he subjects himself to criticism—especially if his team loses. In the 2001 NBA playoffs, Vince Carter found the public questioning his decision.

The Toronto Raptors and the Philadelphia 76ers took their Eastern Conference semifinal series to the full seven games. The deciding contest was scheduled for a Sunday evening in Philadelphia, the same day as Carter’s graduation ceremonies at the University of North Carolina.

Carter, who earned a degree in Afro-American studies, elected to fly in Raptor owner Larry Tanenbaum’s private jet to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and participate in the exercises. Leaving before the commencement address, he arrived back in Philadelphia five hours prior to tip-off.

Other than a bit of early sluggishness, Carter suffered no apparent effects from his quick jet jaunt. Both teams struggled offensively. With 2:34 remaining in the game, the Sixers held an 88–84 lead. The teams then traded misses before Dell Curry nailed a three-pointer for the Raptors that cut the margin to 88–87 with less than a minute to play.

Philly’s Allen Iverson and Eric Snow both missed jumpers before Toronto rebounded with 3.6 ticks on the clock. Following a nonshooting foul, Carter hustled from right to left, took the inbound pass, and fired a last-second shot that bounced off the rim at the buzzer. Philadelphia claimed the hard-fought victory and continued in the playoffs.

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POINT In athletics, it’s easy to play the blame game. Everyone searches for reasons in a loss. The criticism becomes most vocal when an errant play comes near the end of a game.

Vince Carter saw his college graduation as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Never again could he walk across the stage to receive his diploma. Unfortunately, fans forgot all the missed shots by other players earlier in the game, remembering only Carter’s final effort. They criticized him even though nothing could change his decision after the game.

In the Bible, Gideon received his share of criticism. The Ephraimites blamed Gideon for not calling them to fight Midian. Would the outcome have been different? We don’t know, but we do know that results don’t change after a battle—or game—is over.

GOAL! Have you ever blamed someone else for your loss? Ask God to keep you from playing the blame game.