Steph Curry Did What???

After an uncharacteristic outburst of frustration, the unanimous 2016 NBA MVP had to watch the closing moments of the Finals game 6 from the locker room. In a quick series of events, Steph Curry received his sixth personal foul, a technical foul, and was subsequently ejected from the game for throwing his chewed up mouth piece into the stands. It was the first time all season he had fouled out of a game, and the first ejection of his entire career. The Warriors went on to lose the game, meaning there will be a winner-take-all game 7 on Sunday night in Oakland.

So what happened? What caused this fun loving fan favorite to lose his cool? While Curry isn't one to shove his faith in your face, you usually don't see him throwing things or directing four letter words at the officials, either.

What happened is simple: He got angry. He was angry at the ref for calling a foul. He was probably angry that his team was losing, and had been for the entire game, by as much as 24 at one point. If he knew about it, he might have been angry that his wife and other family members weren't let into the arena until less than 10 minutes prior to tip-off.

How am I, as a believer and a Steph Curry fan, supposed to digest the less than Christ-like actions he displayed on national television? I want to be frustrated with him. I want to write him off as another star athlete who talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk. But I know that's not right, that's not the answer.

What I know is that he's a sinner, but so am I. I've been angry before. I've thrown things before. I've cussed before. I just didn't do it in front of a nationally televised audience during the NBA Finals.

But to God, the time and place doesn't matter. What he did and what I have done is exactly the same in His eyes. Yet because NBA superstars are constantly viewed under a microscope, I'm sure he will be scrutinized. I'm sure people will call him out and question his motives and wonder how a professing Christian could act in such a way. That's really unfortunate for Steph, because if some bench player no one knows about had done the same exact thing, or acted even worse, there probably wouldn't be that much conversation and I probably wouldn't be writing this.

We have to remember that, even though he often times looks like a machine on the basketball court, Stephen Curry is a human being. His flesh and Spirit do battle just as much as mine and yours. The only difference is that when my flesh wins out, only a handful of people know. But when Steph loses it for fifteen seconds at the end of a hard fought game, the whole world knows.

So instead of getting mad at him, I'll try to continue doing what I did in the commercial break just before his episode: pray for him. I didn't pray for him to make a shot or for his team to win the game. Knowing how I would want to act in his situation (he was frustrated after having a layup blocked by James, only to be stared down and mouthed at afterwards), I prayed that God would allow him to stay calm and exhibit Christ-like behavior for the rest of the game. While that didn't happen, I will continue to pray for him and trust that he will do better next time. I will not let this one incident define Steph in my mind. After all, how much trouble would I be in if God defined me by one outburst of anger?