Zalgiris Kaunas' head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius. Photo / Getty
Zalgiris Kaunas' head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius. Photo / Getty
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen would have loved this one.
Hansen has a modern attitude towards his players being in attendance for the birth of their children no matter what big matches are on.
It is an issue that comes up in all major professional sport year after year.
But it's doubtful a sporting coach has ever nailed the perfect response better than Lithuanian basketball coach Sarunas Jasikevicius.
Hansen would have been proud to come up with the same moving response as Jasikeivicus who was stunned when questioned by a "youngster" reporter about the issue over the weekend.
Jasikeivicus, coach of the Zalgiris club, was forced to defended star player Augusto Lima from criticism afer he missed a semi-final game for the birth of his daughter.
Zalgiris still won the semi but a persistent reporter wanted to know the coach's reaction to Lima being absent.
The following exchange then went viral around the internet.
Reporter: Coach, what do you think about Augusto Lima going away in the midst of a series to attend the birth of his child?
Jasikevicius: What do I think about it? I allowed him to go.
Reporter: But is it normal for a player to leave the team during the semi-finals?
Jasikevicius: Do you have kids? When you have kids, youngster, you'll understand. Because that's the height of a human experience. Wow, that's a good question, really. Do you think basketball is the most important thing in life?
Reporter: No, but a semi-final is important.
Jasikevicius: To whom is it important?
Reporter: The team.
Jasikevicius: Which one?
Reporter: Zalgiris.
Jasikevicius: Did you see the number of fans at the game? Important? When you see your first child, you will understand what the most important thing in life is. Because nothing can be more majestic in the world than the birth of a child. Not titles, not anything else. Augusto Lima is now in heaven emotionally. I'm really happy for him.
