The Orlando Magic have built a reputation in recent years for fun, energetic, and sometimes over-the-top playful handshakes and daps among teammates. The Wagner brothers, Franz and Moritz, are known for a fun, unserious handshake that includes a “milking the cow” motion. But during their playoffs, two of their teammates had over-the-top pregame rituals, which called for Adam Silver’s intervention from the fans.
Commissioner Silver currently has his hands full with the Clippers-Kawhi salary circumvention investigation and also the largest gambling scandal in NBA history. He even needs to find a solution for the current tanking problems and figure out the players complaining about the biased referee in the postseason. But now, Magic’s Noah Penda and Goga Bitadze’s tunnel pre-game celebration before Game 4 against the Detroit Pistons has fans in disgust. They start normally with a standard hand clasp/grip (like a regular dap).
Then the rookie Penda bends down low, bringing his face right up to the back of Bitadze’s hand. He makes a quick sniffing motion with his nose pressed close, almost like he’s inhaling the white powder. Bitadze laughs and flicks his tongue, encouraging his teammate. From afar, this looks playful, but given the NBA players’ influence, such gestures are not appreciated. That’s why a fan questioned the commissioner. “Inappropriate. What about the children? Adam Silver, what say you?”
The NBA can and does fine players for celebrations if they are deemed inappropriate, obscene, or unsportsmanlike. While players have freedom of expression, the league enforces rules to maintain a “family-friendly” environment and professional image. Let’s not forget that Goga Bitadze was already involved in NSFW trash talk with Luka Doncic. The Lakers’ superstar complained that the Magic star told him he would “f— my family”. Bitadze, however, cleared the air and denied the accusation, claiming instead that Doncic said something inappropriate about his mother first.
That can be swept under heated moment during the game. But the pre-game handshake ritual is a well-thought-out celebration. That’s why the Commissioner could be called into action as the clip is trending on social media.
Speaking about the wrong influence, a netizen wrote that his nephew has started to imitate the same handshake, demanding that Adam Silver ‘suspend them’ as soon as possible. “My nephew saw this, and now their whole 12u is mimicking @adamsilver a real leader would suspend them immediately.” Another fan questioned, “So we doing coke celebrations now?”
This question is simple and raises the bar for the league to set the right example. Previously, star players like Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, and even recently Suns Devin Booker have been fined for gestures that question the league’s integrity. If they can be fined, so can the Orlando Magic players, a fan stated, “Fine worthy.” Another reminded, “The NBA fines Ja Morant for less.”
The league initially warned Morant and Golden State’s Buddy Hield after the two mimicked aiming guns at each other. The NBA explicitly told Morant and the Grizzlies that such gestures were inappropriate and would be viewed negatively. Just hours after the formal warning, Morant performed the gesture twice, and Adam Silver’s NBA issued a celebration fine of $75,000 due to Morant’s history of gun-related incidents. But it seems fans have less faith in the commissioner currently.
Because another fan wrote, “adam silver’s nba” followed by clapping emojis. This was a sarcastic comment aimed at Adam Silver as the league currently finds itself in the middle of multiple scandals and controversies.
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