Iowa sophomore point guard Jordan Bohannon purposefully missed a free throw during Sunday's win against Northwestern—even though the team was trying to protect a late lead.
Up 73–65 with just over two minutes remaining—a comfortable lead, but certainly not an insurmountable one—Bohannon clanked a free throw off the front of the rim. Had he made the shot, it would have been Bohannon's 35th consecutive successful free throw, surpassing the school record of Iowa's Chris Street, who died in a car accident in 1993 while the streak was ongoing.
A moment later, Bohannon pointed to the sky in an apparent tribute to Street.
"That's not my record to have," Bohannon said after the game. "That record deserves to stay in his name."
The general opinion is that it was a classy gesture, and I'd agree with that. There's also been some criticism of it though, from pointing out that records are meant to be broken and that someone else could come along and break it at some point, to leaving the door open with a lead that wasn't exactly insurmountable (and questioning whether he'd have still done it if the game was much closer), to pointing out that if it was an issue, he could've missed earlier so that he didn't tie the record. I'd be lying if I said I didn't think there was some merit to those comments, too.
I don't think it would've been disrespectful to break the record, which has stood for 25 years as it is, and giving up any chance to extend the lead when the game isn't completely out of reach is a gamble. Had the game been much closer and it ended up giving away the win, that would arguably not be a very fitting tribute to a past competitor. However, it ultimately didn't cost them the game, and it was a gesture that obviously meant a lot to him and the school, so I say fair enough. If he's content to share the record in tribute to Chris Street, so be it.
