Time now to end silence on hazing

Some topics (unfortunately) return again and again — sports, hazing rituals, “boys being boys.” For how long will sports be a central place where boys keep on keeping on with this traditional masculinity “package” of aggression, homophobia, cruelty? Talk about a tough one to root out. — Charles N. It’s crazy. Every time we think we’ve made strides, it turns out we haven’t done nearly enough to eradicate the abhorrent behaviour. And more and more, I think we need to find a way to focus on the enablers and those who know and do nothing. And there are those people out there, because people talk and people know, and to keep silent about it rather than fight it and expose it is both irresponsible and evil. I noticed that Nick Nurse had a couple of quick chats with K.D. on the sideline during the Raptors-Warriors game. I don’t recall seeing that often in games with other coaches and players. Is that a thing? It seemed pretty genial. Any guesses to what they were talking about? Family, dinner plans, holy smokes you are an amazing player, ignore Drake? — Santino It’s a bit of a thing. Guys have little side conversations probably more than you realize or that get caught on TV broadcasts. It’s generally a bit of joking and maybe some trash talk. It’s basically harmless and goes on between players and coaches and players and players, and sometimes it’s refs, too. I’ve noted that Kawhi Leonard is sitting on a riser on his chair at the bench. Might you know why? Secondarily, I can’t help but note that Serge Ibaka consistently touches and/or smells the ball when the opposing team shoots foul shots in our end. If you don’t know why, could you please ask? — Ken Leamy The extra cushion is simply for comfort, I’m told. Not a big deal at all. The Ibaka thing is a habit, simply. You’ll see several players, mostly on free throws, just want to touch the ball. The smelling or kissing or whatever just takes that habit or superstition to a different level. Glad to see you back in the saddle and slaying the basketball dragons again. Who in your opinion is the best two-way player at each position in the league? Centre? Power forward? Small forward? Shooting guard? Point guard? Who would be on your two-way all-star team?— Andy Man, that’s a tough one given the move toward basically position-less basketball, even down to point guard with so many teams using multiple players to initiate the offence. But if I had to pick five of varying size, skill and position, I could live with: Jrue Holiday or Chris Paul; Jimmy Butler or Klay Thompson; Kawhi Leonard or Kevin Durant; LeBron James or Paul George; Joel Embiid or Anthony Davis. In the Miami game write-up you mentioned that “Kyle Lowry hit a deep, deep three.” With that in mind, who are your top five in the NBA with legitimate “deep, deep” range? — Paul M. In today’s game? Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Kyle Lowry, Damian Lillard come to mind. Read more on Doug Smith’s Sports Blog at thestar.com. And if you have a basketball question (or on any sports, really) drop Doug a line at

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