Mavs line up to offer condolences to McHale on return

Maybe we make too much of simple gestures of class in sports. Perhaps it’s because they are unfortunately not as frequent as one might expect or hope them to be. Regardless, an action need not be grand or flashy to be powerful. The Dallas Mavericks showed the class of their team and organization this weekend with only a series of handshakes.

I’m slightly late to the party on this one, but check out the video below from pre-game of Saturday night’s Dallas Mavericks/Houston Rockets affair in Houston. The night marked the first game Rockets head coach Kevin McHale returned to the bench following a month-long absence during which he left the team and joined his family as his daughter fought complications from Lupus. She died just before Thanksgiving at the age of 23.

I can’t even begin to imagine what any of those emotions are like. But, on the night you return to your team, it must be something to see the entire bench of your opponent empty, head over to your bench and shake your hand, hug you and offer their condolences. Classy move all-around by the Mavs.