Latrell Sprewell's attack on P.J. Carlesimo and the
subsequent one-year suspension from the NBA by Commissioner
David Stern continues to draw significant attention from the
print media. Many writers are using the story to comment on
the state of the NBA and as an example of the attitude of
professional athletes towards authority. A sampling of
these articles follows (THE DAILY):
A GANGSTER RAP: In N.Y., Mike Wise wrote the Sprewell
incident "shook the entire league" and is the "latest in a
series of troublesome incidents in the N.B.A. involving on-
court and off-court misconduct by any number of its players.
In particular, [it] raised uncomfortable issues for the
league dealing with race, mutual respect and a generational
chasm between players and coaches that, at least in some
instances, may be widening" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/7). NEWSWEEK's
Starr & Samuels: "The attack heightens already growing
concerns about the lack of discipline among the game's
younger stars" (NEWSWEEK, 12/15 issue). The CHRISTIAN
SCIENCE MONITOR's Sam Walker said it "raises important
questions about changes in society that may be reflected in
increasingly strained relationships between NBA players and
coaches" (CSM, 12/8). TIME's Joel Stein: "It didn't take a
genius to see all this coming. Respect for the old
establishment was clearly fading as huge salaries boosted
egos and brash wannabe superstars began to elbow their way
toward the inevitable post-Michael Jordan era" (TIME, 12/15
issue). In S.F., Glenn Dickey wrote the NBA "has a serious
problem, the cult of the individual, and it won't be solved
by the suspension of Latrell Sprewell." Dickey argued
"many" NBA athletes "are out of control ... and they could
ruin the game" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 12/10). In San Jose, Mark
Purdy wrote, "[t]his is not a story that goes beyond pro
basketball. It is a story totally about pro basketball,
which for too long has been too bloated with too much money
and too much ego" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 12/10). In
Charlotte, Ron Green: "It's not the games that are eroding
the image of the NBA. ... People are fed up with athletes
behaving like gangsters. ... They are fed up with athletes
who are out of touch with reality" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER,
12/11). In Boston, Bob Ryan: "This is a story with major
legs. Before it plays out, the issue of confrontational
coaches will get a good airing out ... and the idea of
league authority will be examined and, most of all, the
issue of race will come to the fore" (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/11).
SI'S TAKE: Sprewell is pictured on SI's cover with text
that reads the "incident raises other issues that could pose
threats to the NBA's future, issues of power and money and -
- most dangerous of all -- race." Analyzing the state of
the league, SI's Jack McCallum writes when Stern "made the
command decision to kick Sprewell out of the league for one
year, it seemed that perhaps the pressures of dealing with a
star-crossed first month of the season had something to do
with his draconian decision." McCallum adds that if the
arbitrator shortens Sprewell's decision, "it would represent
Stern's biggest defeat in his glorious 13-year run as the
commissioner's commissioner" (SI, 12/15 issue). In his
piece, "The Race Card," SI's Phil Taylor writes, "[T]here is
a sense that the league was trying to do more than send a
message that attacking a coach is unpardonable ... it was
also trying to send a message to the public that the NBA it
knows and loves was not becoming too dangerous, 'too
black.'" SI's Michael Farber writes Sprewell is "just
another in the long line of friendly reminders ... that
sports stand at a precipice. There's no guardrail. There's
no abiding sense of right or wrong, at least beyond what the
various leagues' vice presidents for violence impose on
yesterday's headline makers. The industry of sports has
gone to hell in a handbasket, but as long as a team or
corporate logo is on the handbasket, it's O.K." (SI, 12/15).
PR PLIGHT: In Detroit, Bob Wojnowski: "The NBA is mired
in the biggest public-relations scandal since baseball
cancelled the World Series. If the arbitrator reduces
Sprewell's punishment significantly, the league loses
another chunk of power, and the image of players run amok
grows. If the arbitrator upholds the ban, Barkley and his
cohorts will play every card" (DETROIT NEWS, 12/11). In
N.Y., Joe Gergen: "What began as a simple assault by an
athlete against his coach has mushroomed into an incident of
great consequence not only for basketball but for all
professional sports in America." He added the NBA has
thrown "down the gauntlet to the players to shape up or be
shipped out, in what may be a defining moment between
management and labor in professional sports. Stern believes
the role of commissioner and the letter of the player
contract entitles him to demand a standard of conduct on and
off the court. He is banking his reputation on it"
(NEWSDAY, 12/11). In Orlando, Larry Guest notes a CBS
SportsLine poll that showed 69% of respondents feel more
negatively toward the NBA this season: "If Stern is playing
to the Court of Public Opinion, it's about time someone in
the NBA considered public sentiment. Too many players and
owners don't, and Stern is gamely trying to save them all
from themselves" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 12/11). In Oakland,
Carl Steward wrote that while the NBA's suspension "may be
vulnerable," it is a "thinly veiled message to the entire
players' association that it will deal with its image
problems involving myriad player insurrections as strongly
as it sees fit" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 12/10). But in Chicago,
Sam Smith writes the Sprewell issue "is about big money and
who gets it, and who will have the bargaining power when the
real fight takes place next summer" over the CBA (CHICAGO
TRIBUNE, 12/11). In Portland, Dwight Jaynes: "If the
players get the punishment overturned or shortened, it will
only serve as one more incident that will bring even more
fans to management's side -- and against the players -- in
the inevitable labor strife" (OREGONIAN, 12/10).
TIME TO TALK? In Oakland, Monte Poole wrote that
Johnnie Cochran's role with Sprewell should lead Stern to
talk with the union. Stern "knows a fight with Cochran
could get messy, risking further alienation. The suggestion
here to Stern is to consider a compromise" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE,
12/10). In S.F., Gwen Knapp wrote the "long-term health of
the NBA now appears to be at stake" and called on Stern to
"call a timeout in the hostilities," talk with the player
reps and "reassure the players" that the one-year
"suspension (like Sprewell's attack) was an aberration"
(EXAMINER, 12/10). In L.A., Randy Harvey writes Stern "has
forgotten, as baseball's leaders did years ago, that a
league's most valuable assets are its players. ... Stern's
reaction, his overreaction, was to establish himself as
judge and jury." Harvey: "In the battle for the hearts and
souls of the fans, the likelihood is that Stern will win and
the players will lose. That means the NBA loses. I thought
Stern was smarter than that" (L.A. TIMES, 12/11). In
Chicago, Jay Mariotti: "[L]ike some radical thinker with a
hidden agenda, [Stern] went too far" (SUN-TIMES, 12/11).
BIG PICTURE: In S.F., Bruce Jenkins: "There's a deep-
seated anger among athletes from hard backgrounds, an anger
stemming from racism, injustice and the constant specter of
violence. Players will continue to bring that anger into
the professional ranks" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 12/6). CA-based
sociologist Dr. Harry Edwards said, "Eventually, one of
these kids is going to leave practice -- and he's not going
to come back and take a swing at the coach. He's going to
come back shooting" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 12/6).
