NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter continued to call on NBA
Commissioner David Stern to revisit the league's one-year
suspension of Latrell Sprewell. Hunter: "I don't think it's
an issue of backing down or looking bad. It's about
ensuring the success and longevity of this league." More
Hunter: "We hope the commissioner might be inclined to
revisit so that we don't have to engage in any more
bloodletting. That may prove even more detrimental not only
to Latrell but probably moreso to Coach Carlesimo and the
NBA. I think the league will take a hit on this" (USA
TODAY, 12/15). Stern, asked by the N.Y. POST's Peter Vecsey
if the league would compromise on the suspension: "I'm
locked into nothing and precluded from nothing" (N.Y. POST,
12/14). In N.Y., Mitch Lawrence wrote Stern "becomes a
coward if he backs down" from the suspension. He added the
league "scored a huge PR win" in suspending Sprewell.
Lawrence: "Now, it's going to reverse itself and subject
itself up to a torrent of negative criticism? The fallout
would make Stern a laughingstock" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/14).
AROUND THE LEAGUE: In his ESPN SportsZone column, David
Aldridge called on Charles Barkley to continue his threat of
a player boycott of the All-Star Game. Aldridge: "I think
it would have been great for the All-Stars to force the
league's hand. The power these young men have is incredible,
yet they never seem to realize it" (SportsZone, 12/14). In
N.Y., Mike Wise wrote the Sprewell incident "further
polarized a league headed for turbulent times. As the two
sides move toward labor negotiations next year, the divide
grows." MSG President Dave Checketts: "It could be divisive
down the road if we allow it to be" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/14).
SPREWELL NOTES: In Tampa, Bill Fay criticized the
staging of Sprewell's press conference: "Lining the table
with lawyers while six teammates stand behind you like hired
bodyguards smacks of confrontation, not conciliation. Hard
to feel any sympathy when Latrell and his team were striking
an 'Us Against Them' pose up on stage" (TAMPA TRIBUNE,
12/14)....In L.A., Mark Heisler wrote that the NBPA's Billy
Hunter is "the one man gaining stature in this mess." He
was "an unknown when it started, but he's the best reason
the defense veered away from a race-based argument" (L.A.
TIMES, 12/14)....Kermit Washington, who was fined a "then-
record" $10,000 and suspended 60 days for punching Rudy
Tomjanovich in '77, said Sprewell should "get rid" of
Johnnie Cochran as his "presence ... makes its seem to many
middle type of people that Latrell is trying to get away
with something" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 12/12).
MORE REF PROBLEMS? In N.Y., Mitch Lawrence reported
that "the bad news isn't going to stop for the NBA. League
sources say that the IRS is going to bust 15-20 more
referees in their Travel-gate investigation and that the
feds plan on making a big splash by announcing the
indictments" over February's All-Star weekend. Two refs,
George Tolliver and Hank Armstrong, "who were suspended in
the probe" have taken settlements from the league and both
will be paid $110,000 (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/14).
A TIRED ACT? The NBA has "done away with the slam-dunk
contest" around its All-Star Weekend, according to Mike Wise
of the N.Y. TIMES. The contest will be replaced by Two
Ball, in which an WNBA player and an NBA player compete
against other pairs (N.Y. TIMES, 12/14).
