The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat, set to play an exhibition game in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, are being instructed by NBA officials to abandon the show-boating celebration called the “three-goggle.”
Also known as the “three-sign,” the flaunting hand gesture involves creating a third eye by rounding your thumb and index finger and extending the other three fingers upward in front of your eyes. After successfully knocking down a 3-point-shot, the “three goggle” is employed as a way of reminding everyone in the arena that you are a great shooter and are really awesome.
Although, according to Cleveland.com, the move is used in good fun in the U.S., the gesture isn’t quite so funny when exhibited in Brazil. Offering the “three-sign” or the “three-goggles” hand configuration in Brazil could be misinterpreted as “f— you” or “f— off.”
The league sent both teams a memo prohibiting the boastful motion. Cavs 3-point marksman James Jones says that he didn’t get any memos, but he doesn’t use it anyway. “Hey, that’s why I just salute after I hit one,” he said. “That’s not offending anyone, right?”
The Cavs arrived on Wednesday to prepare for Saturday’s game, which will pit LeBron James against the Heat for the first time since re-signing with Cleveland. The matchup is part of the NBA’s “Global Games” series, an effort began by former commissioner David Stern to expand the NBA brand worldwide.
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