The Gaze

“Go Bryce! Come on, easy points!” the basketball coach spat and yelled as Bryce was sprinting down the court. They were playing in the semi-final game of the Israeli cup. A 6’6” athletic freak was chasing him down. Bryce could feel him on his back. As he jumped for the dunk, the defender bumped him in the air and Bryce fell right on his ribs. A loud thump echoed throughout the gym. Everyone, including the defender, was expecting the referee to call a foul. There was no doubt that the defender pushed Bryce. Still recovering from the fall, Bryce expectedly looked up at the referee, waiting for him to whistle. Instead, the ref gave Bryce a blank gaze that could not be deciphered. Filled with fury, Bryce stood up and pointed his middle finger at him. Luckily, the ref didn’t notice. Bryce felt shocked, confused, and then fortunate that he was not thrown out of the game.Following the incident, the defender took the ball and went back up the court.

About twenty minutes later, Bryce received the ball on the left wing, dribbled right, and jumped up in order to shoot. His defender reacted slowly, but managed to slap his forearm. This created a resonant sound that was heard by everyone at the gym. The impact of the hit changed the course of the shot, and the ball did not hit the rim. The referee was standing right across from them - he could not have missed the obvious foul. Bryce, along with everyone else, was expecting a whistle. It did not come. The ref gave him a blank gaze that could not be deciphered. Bryce realized he was not getting the foul.

“What! Are you kidding me? How can you miss that?” Bryce shrieked.

The horns went off; the never-ending game was finally over. On the way to the locker rooms, Bryce thought about the previous plays. What does he have against me? he wondered. Is he taking bribes from the other team? After all, they are known to be cheaters, and Israeli referees are paid a pathetic minimum-wage salary. Agitated, Bryce left the stadium and headed to his car. As he entered the parking lot, he saw the referee slowly walking around, without a care in the world. With his anger building up, Bryce walked towards the ref in a threatening manner. He continued to walk until a single meter separated them.

The ref did not react, and Bryce commanded, “Hey!”

In response, the ref jerked up in surprise and quickly turned his head around. And that is when Bryce had his epiphany. He didn’t see me coming. The ref gave him a blank gaze that could now be deciphered - he was blind.

  

Referee Joey Crawford Tells Timofey Mozgov to ‘shut Up,’ Scolds LeBron James. Digital image. Washington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Jan. 2016. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/files/2015/06/NBA_Finals_Warriors_Cavaliers_Basketball-08315.jpg>.