The one thing that I do know about Caron Butler is that he loves to chew on plastic straws.
Well, the NBA has just announced that his famous habit has been banned from the playing area.
We get more from NBA Fanhouse:
Butler was said to go through roughly 12 straws a game, chewing on them during play and on the bench until they got stringy. He cited an teenage start to the habit, explaining that chewing the straws calmed him down. The habit (or addiction?) stuck.The rules itself essentially bans Butler from chewing straws on the court mainly because what if there was NBA straw-related incident that injured him or another player.
But now, as first reported by Mike Fisher of DallasBasketball.com, the NBA has ordered Butler to stop chewing straws on the court.
Fisher presents the news with incredulity, but there's a fairly simple explanation: it's a safety issue. That's how NBA spokesman Tim Frank explained it to FanHouse Thursday morning. The ban covers game play; Butler is free to chew to his heart's content on the bench.
(The HORROR, The HORROR, THE HORROR)
I do get the NBA's position on this; chewing on plastic straws can be dangerous to one's health especially if he trying to drive to the basket on a lay-up line where a possible piece of plastic shrapnel could hit someone in the eye. (Hey, if a hot dog can do it, a straw could defintely do it.)
I guess that Tough Juice might have to find a new habit when he is on the court, may I suggest, lollipops?
(Courtesy of NBA FanHouse)