Cappie Pondexter makes foul shot while Gilbert Gottfried quacks

Going to work everyday and supporting your family shows a degree of maturity.  Paying your bills on-time takes some maturity as well.  Evidence of real maturity, however, appears in the face of tragedy.  Have you ever had a friend tell a dumb joke at a funeral or in a hospital?  This person is usually funny, but at that moment they became the most ignorant person you've ever met.  In another instance, you have a friend who speaks on a subject they know very little about.  Their statement comes off as insensitive and harsh.

Cappie Pondexter of the WNBA's New York Liberty wrote the following tweet on Sunday.  "Maybe god was tired of the way they treated there own people!"  Pondexter was referring to the people of Japan who are facing the aftermath of last weekend's devastating earthquake and tsunami.  She wrote two other tweets that were just as insensitive.  I'm not going to use this forum to debate Pondexter's religious beliefs.  I'll just state a fact.  Japan is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire; which is one of the most seismically active areas in the world.  Earthquakes occur quite frequently there.  Pondexter was also a member of the 2007 Rutgers University basketball team that was insulted by Don Imus.  She knows the effects of hurtful public comments and should know better.

Gilbert Gottfried is a comedian and was the voice of the Aflac duck until this week.  He made an off-color joke about the Japanese disaster.  Aflac abruptly fired him.  Some things are just not funny.  You can help your kids develop maturity.  Teach them how it's inappropriate to laugh when an opponent gets injured.  Let them know it's wrong to criticize someone for running into the outfield wall while they're still on the ground.  Mature people help others.  They don't tell jokes or give misguided lectures.  Being a good sport means lending a hand, not pointing a finger.  Until next time...

Be a Good Sport!

-Sol