The Warriors "are prepared to use a history of Latrell
Sprewell's behavior at a grievance hearing to review the
players's punishment for attacking" coach P.J. Carlesimo,
according to Mike Wise of the N.Y. TIMES. Two NBA execs
told Wise that the "team has a document detailing what it
believes to be a pattern of misconduct by Sprewell over
several years." The file includes an incident involving
Sprewell and an Oakland police officer, where Sprewell
allegedly used a racial epithet toward the Japanese officer
and "made several remarks that [the officer] interpreted as
death threats." Sprewell's agent, Arn Tellem, said Sprewell
was not available to discuss the comments in the file due to
the pending arbitration process (N.Y. TIMES, 12/12).
HUNTER ON AIR: NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter spoke with
ABC's Charlie Gibson about the Sprewell incident. Hunter,
asked about the olive branch that he said had been extended
by the Warriors: "There hasn't been any kind of public
declaration by the NBA ... nothing other than ... some
information provided to us by one of the representatives of
the [Warriors]. He basically said that he thought there
might be an opportunity in the immediate future to resolve
this, and I assumed that the basis of that statement was
information that he'd received from the NBA." Hunter later
referred to Sprewell's act as a "faux pas," to which Gibson
responded, "It's more than a faux pas, I mean he tried to
kill the man ... He could be in jail." Hunter: "I doubt
under the circumstances he'd be in jail. I doubt seriously
if he'd have been charged with an offense" (ABC, 12/12).
MORE: In N.Y., Phil Mushnick on Johnnie Cochran's
involvement in the Sprewell case: "Cochran showed up as an
ambulance chaser. He took to a national stage to further
both his [sports agent] business and the insidious means-
streets notion that you can demand unconditional respect
without giving any in return" (N.Y. POST 12/12)....Also in
N.Y., Peter Vecsey on a compromise: "Why should the league
compromise? If [NBA Commissioner] David Stern learned one
lesson from past suspensions for fighting and head-butting,
it's that he was too lenient" (N.Y. POST, 12/12).
SHOWING SOME PUNCH OFF THE COURT: The Wizards fined
Tracy Murray and Rod Strickland $25,000 each for "fighting
with one another at the team hotel" before a game against
the Hornets, according to Ric Bucher of the WASHINGTON POST.
The "fines were believed to be the largest ever levied by
the franchise, which expressed concern about the impact the
incident would have on fans." Murray will make his
contribution to the charity of Strickland's choice and vice
versa (Ric Bucher, WASHINGTON POST, 12/12).
