It was just a small gesture, but it seemed to carry a much greater message. The photo taken during Wednesday’s basketball game between Kansas and Texas A&M and published in Thursday’s Journal-World showed Mario Chalmers grimacing at a referee who had called a foul on him. Not an uncommon sight.

But right beside Chalmers was his teammate Darnell Jackson reaching a hand out to help the A&M player who had ended up sitting on the floor after the encounter. The opposing player looked a little surprised, but Jackson looked like he didn’t even give it a thought; it was just automatic. A fellow player is on the floor; you help him up.

As we said, it was a small thing, but such acts of courtesy and respect seem to be sorely lacking both on the court and out in the world these days. Kudos to Jackson for a small act of kindness that reminds us all how easy it is to make the world a little bit better place.