In today’s world of smartphones and 24/7 social media, strange incidents during sports events often go viral within minutes.
Which makes a bizarre recent incident involving Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson even stranger, because it went virtually unnoticed for almost a week.
During Saturday’s game, as the Cavaliers hosted the Atlanta Hawks, a ball got stuck in the basket support behind the backboard. An official motioned to a teen holding a sweat mop to knock the ball down.
Thompson stepped forward and told the mop boy to move back. The official motioned for the kid to come back out. Thompson then began angrily gesturing for him to move back, and then grabbed the mop from him and theatrically leaned it against the basket support.
The moment came off as incredibly odd. One can only imagine the poor teen holding the mop, not knowing what to do (although he will definitely have a fun story to tell his grandchildren one day).
“Don’t yell at the mop boy,” a fan can be heard saying in a video of the incident.
Eventually, someone apparently with arena staff grabbed the mop and knocked the ball down.
Tristan Thompson didn’t want the mop boy to get the ball unstuck 🤔
(via docucontent/TT)pic.twitter.com/IFea9qe2fh
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 22, 2023
It’s unclear why this incident went virtually unnoticed for almost a week before blowing up on X/Twitter Friday. Here’s game broadcast of the incident.
Tristan Thompson with some unnecessary aggression towards this ball-boy…
Just not cool bro. pic.twitter.com/maaKbf11Md
— Jack Tresh (@jack_tresh) December 17, 2023
It’s also unclear just what Thompson intended by gesturing and yelling at the mop boy.
While many fans were mad at Thompson for seemingly berating the boy, others argued his venom was aimed at the referees, who he felt should get the ball down, and that he was just being overly theatrical in his gestures toward the teen.
But that’s not his call, if the kid wanted to do it who is he to tell him not to. It’s just as bad.💯
— Gregory L. (@sirslam24) December 22, 2023
What the hell is going on here 🤨 lol
— The Brooklyn Way (@Jersey2Brooklyn) December 22, 2023
Telling the kid it’s not his job and mad at the refs for telling him to do it
— 🏀 (@MilesAboveRimm) December 22, 2023
Pretty sure he’s telling the refs to do something about it and leave the mop boy alone lol. Don’t think he’s the bad guy here, even though he’s a bum and I hate him
— Damon Satan (@truthhurtsbruv) December 22, 2023
This is Tristan Thompson’s highlight tape for this season (didn’t even know he was in the league)
— ROOK (@rookmatic) December 22, 2023
He was yelling at the ref to do his job and saying it’s not the kid’s job to do that. It’s the holiday season and people are STILL looking to be negative… he told the kid “No don’t do his job…” turned to the ref and said “That’s not his job, that’s your job!”
— Hts. Ambassador (@HtsAmbassador) December 23, 2023
[Clutch Points; Photo Credit: @docucontent/tt]
