You Can't Do That
K'Andre Miller calling his spit in Drew Doughty's face 'accidental' is an all-time stretch (but it worked?)
On the long list if things you simply cannot do in sports, and life in general, spitting on someone has to be near the very top, if not No. 1. No matter what someone says or does to you, spitting in their face is simply never the answer.
New York Rangers defenseman K'Andre Miller, the last player you'd expect to spit in anyone's face, committed this grave sin on Sunday evening at Madison Square Garden. Early in the game, during a scuffle with the L.A. Kings, Miller was caught on camera hawking a loogie directly in the face of longtime Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, which earned Miller a match penalty (disqualification from the game for you non puckheads):
Look, things get heated in these scrums. Guys say (very) mean things to each other. And Miller is probably not the first nor the last player to have done this. But his was clear as day on camera and that's going to get you in big, big trouble every time. A potentially-lengthy suspension, and a fine, will be soon to follow.
Miller, however, is claiming it was accidental, which sounds like a ridiculous stretch until you see this clip of him near the Rangers bench afterward explaining to teammate Alexis Lafrenière that he "spit, and it f---ing hit him." Almost as if to say, I was actually just spitting like I normally would and he happened to get in the way:
Of course, the camera angle does Miller absolutely zero favors. It shows he spat right in Doughty's face and there's not much room for interpretation. Feels like one of those situations that Miller allowed the moment to get the best of him and he immediately regretted it, like drinking milk on a 95-degree day.
And yet, the "accidental" excuse is ... sort of working? According to reports, Miller had a conversation with Doughty afterward and the conversation was "good."
If you've watched any of Doughty over the years, you know he can be a bit of a hothead. For him to not only be a part of this conversation, but for reports to come out that it was a good conversation, is downright stunning. Then again, Miller has no history of this behavior and was clearly extremely apologetic after, so that helps his case. Moral of the story, as always, is don't spit on anyone and all of this can be avoided.
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