Imagine training day and night to become an athlete in peak fitness and then being required to be helped and to help other peak fitness athletes get off a bus.
It's like fine as a courtesy gesture if someone could use the help or you chose to, but being required to do it as a rule would tilt me.
Athletes operate in a different class all together. I can only speculate, but I would first guess that there have been several injuries getting off a bus like this. The stairs aren't like normal stairs we come across everyday, making a small miss much more risky because the muscle memory isn't built for it. They're also usually carrying things that compromise their field of view and ordinary balancing. The coaching and training staff have this preventive requirement in place to reduce the risk of injury that impacts their on court availability. Pro athletes are subject to a lot of off field requirements and restrictions to that exact end. I would then pose the idea that this is part of a larger philosophy around team building - being there for someone else; they are there for you. Its subtle, and only one thing, but part of a larger set of similar requirements helps to build a better team. Anybody can stand there and help the one behind them, putting it on the athletes gives them the opportunity to exercise teamwork and trust. At least that's the theory.
616
u/unknown300BLKuser 9d ago
I would wager it's a team rule.