Hockey Tough: NHL Player Shows Up For Playoff Game On The Day Of His Child's Birth While NBA Player Stays Home To Be A Soft Loving Father
Do the Stanley Cup Playoffs just mean more?
We had quite the coincidence in the world of sports last night with both Rudy Gobert and Brandon Carlo welcomed new children into the world yesterday. The birth of a child is one of the best days of your life, so congratulations to Rudy Gobert and his girlfriend, and to Brandon Carlo and his wife for getting to experience that. But what happens when you're a professional athlete and you have a playoff game to play later that night?
I'm not totally up to date on the CBA in the NHL and NBA, so I'm not totally sure how paternity leave works in the league. I'd imagine it's probably a game time decision at that point. Do you stay at the hospital in that god awful uncomfortable chair they stick you in to be a loving father? Or do you dip out right after snipping the umbilical cord so you can snip the top right corner later that night?
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Well in this case, we had two separate decisions.
Brandon Carlo said this is the playoffs we're talking about here. The playoffs. The boys are just 12 wins away from getting to hoist the Cup over their heads, and they need him out on the ice. So he hopped on the first flight to Florida to make it in time for game 1 against the Panthers, and got himself on the board with his first goal as a new father.
An awesome moment for Brandon Carlo, and one I'm sure he'll love to share with his son for the rest of his life.
Now Rudy Gobert, on the other hand, took a different approach. He decided that being a father and supportive boyfriend was more important than the playoffs. He said he'd rather be there to change that first diaper than to be out there on the floor. And now his back is going to be fucked for at least 3 weeks after having to sleep in that chair overnight. Who knows how much more time that might cause him to miss. Clearly some guys just aren't born to be hockey players. Gilbert Arenas knows what I'm talking about.
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It's a baby, bro. Why waste your time with a baby when you can be out there helping your team beat the Nuggets by 30 instead of just 26? You think Michael Jordan would have missed a game when Anthony Edwards was born? Not a goddamn chance. But that's because Michael Jordan was born to be a hockey player and just happened to play hoops instead.
There's nothing like the Stanley Cup Playoffs, baby. Doesn't matter if your leg just got shattered in half, or your son was born a few hours ago. You don't miss a shift.