Enes Kanter fined for throwing mouthguard into stands, which is gross (Ball Don't Lie)

[Yahoo! Sports - NBA -]

NBA players exert a lot of energy during games. This isn't especially shocking, but the full effect doesn't really come across on TV. Frankly, the whole scene can be a little disgusting — players covered in sweat, which gets everywhere, all while various attendants and moppers try to mask the scents and residues as best they can. I apologize for presenting such a gross image, but it's the reality of the situation. Not surprisingly, attending fans often react in horror when they happen to come in direct contact with players in the throes of intense physical competition. It is therefore fairly logical that Utah Jazz big man Enes Kanter has been fined $25,000 for throwing his mouthguard into the stands during Monday night's road loss to the Sacramento Kings . With 4:34 left in the third quarter, Kanter was whistled for a traveling violation. He threw his mouthguard in frustration, earning a technical foul in the process. Take a look: Look, this is pretty clearly gross. Human mouths are filthy even when theoretically clean, and we have no idea what Kanter ate or drank before this moment. By throwing his mouthguard, he put everyone within throwing distance in danger. Or maybe not, because the fan who obtained Kanter's mouthguard apparently considered it so valuable that he needed to hold it aloft like a prized catch (via SB Nation ): Enes Kanter was mad about a call and tossed his mouth guard into the stands. This man caught it. It was taken back. pic.twitter.com/9KuBuPE5Pd — Jody Genessy (@DJJazzyJody) December 9, 2014 Kanter's actions are questionable, but this troubles me on a far deeper level. At first, I considered that the fan was holding up the mouthguard so that the proper authorities could take it from him immediately, but that would be an illogical move under the circumstances. If the mouthguard had come into contact with the fan, the sensible move would have been to get it off the body ASAP in a manner similar to that of someone who brushes up against any goop of indeterminate origin. Even if the man caught the mouthguard as a basic reflex, his immediate reaction should have been to throw it on the ground and gesticulate for help in distress. Given the circumstances, though, we must assume that the fan was either happy to catch Kanter's mouthguard or — the following consideration should probably be tagged NSFW — picked it up off the ground. I demand a full investigation into the matter. - - - - - - - Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @FreemanEric

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