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Daily Outrage Sporting Heroes 

SPREWELL WINS!

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Our readers were Outraged last December when we wrote about San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown’s defense of Latrell Sprewell.

You may recall that last December NBA star Sprewell attacked his coach – not once, but twice – and choked him until he was pulled off by other players. The second attack was clearly premeditated. Latrell also threatened to kill head coach P.J. Carlesimo.

And now, Sprewell is back!

The Golden State Warriors terminated Sprewell’s contract after the assault. But arbitrator John Feerick has ruled that just because a player physically assaults his coach, that’s no reason to fire him. Feerick has reinstated Sprewell as a member of San Francisco’s NBA franchise .

Who was this arbitrator? John Feerick is the dean of Fordham University Law School. We find it totally appropriate that Feerick would find in favor of Sprewell. After all, Feerick is one of the people responsible for training the current crop of lawyers and judges, for whom justice is a totally alien concept.

If Sprewell were an ordinary mortal, he would have been arrested for assault and battery. But, of course, he’s not – he’s a professional athlete. Thus he will be eligible to resume his career on July 1 of this year.

NBA Commissioner David Stern had this to say: “I think that the fundamental point, which is whether you can choke your boss and still hold your job, is one that the answer is now well-established. You cannot, unless you play in the NBA.”

Golden State Warriors team owner Christopher Cohan: “We were shocked by the decision.”

On the other hand, the players union was delighted that one of their members could commit assault and get away with it. NBA Players Association executive director Billy Hunter said “the decision is a victory for all NBA players as well as for Latrell Sprewell.” Great – so now all players have the right to try to kill their coaches.

Arbitrator Feerick has sent an important message to all those who look to sports stars as role models, especially children. Is your teacher getting on your nerves? Just punch him – you’ll get away with it. Tired of your parent’s discipline? Just smack your mother – that’s the way your heroes deal with frustration. Adults, are you tired of that nagging boss? Just choke her to death.

We also have to admit that we’re stunned by the hypocrisy of current employer / employee relationships. A male boss who makes the merest hint of an improper suggestion to a female employee invites a multi-million dollar sexual harassment law suit. Army officers who have consensual sexual relations with their subordinates go to jail. Corporations that fail to hire and promote enough blacks are slammed with huge discrimination suits and accusations of racism. Yet a multimillionaire athlete, who happens to be black, can attempt to kill his boss, who happens to be white, and get away with it.

But we’re really not surprised – after all, former football star O.J. Simpson knifed two innocent people to death, and he remains a free man. We now live in a society in which justice is a sick joke, and the ability to “go to the hoop” carries the fringe benefit of freedom to assault, rape, or kill with impunity.

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0 thoughts on “SPREWELL WINS!”

  1. stop trying to make this a racial issue. I think you guys
    can let Sprewell get away with a choke…..We let yall
    get away with hangings lynchings whippings AND MURDERS.

    As usual there are 2 sides to every coin. When I first read your report, I was outraged, which is what you intended. So I e-wrote to Mayor Brown, whose web-address you provided, and to the NBA’s web-page, and any other related personage I could think of. After all it is wrong for a player, or anyone, to physically attack his boss, or anyone. Now when I e-wrote to these people I did mention that P J Carlisimo’s yelling at his players was “ugly.” I was embarrassed at his behavior the times I have watched him on national television. I follow Seton Hall basketball because I am a graduate, class of ’68, where he used to coach. But yesterday I ran into a former student from the University of Alabama, where Latrell Sprewell attended school and played basketball. She seemed like a reliable person, so I have no reason to doubt her. She said that he was a very gentile, kind, and noble student; and that she was very surprised that he had tried to strangle his coach. So now I wonder whether P J Carlisimo somehow instigated this reaction and brought this attack on himself, not that I am excusing Sprewell. He should have reacted in a more civilized manner, but I wasn’t there. Maybe Carlisimo lowered himself to street level and the player went down with him. But this situation should be investigated from all angles before we accuse the players whose salaries we feel are exhorbitant, and therefore we feel that we have to somehow justify their being paid so much by demanding that they do more than be themselves.

    Time: 3/9/98 (22:35:24)

    Is it true that the decision to bring Sprewell back was made by an all black panel? Did that have something to do with the decision?

    The last (Weekly) Outrage (Sprewell Wins) finally takes the DO back to where it was when I was proud to print out most DOs and carry them to work and pass it around. Thanx for coming back to me fellas.

    Time: 3/7/98 (19:10:40)

    If the fans do not boycott this team, then they must also take responsibility for this outrage. You want to change some one’s policy, you have to hit them in the pocketbook. Mindless sports fans are what created this monster in the first place.

    This page is also an outrage. The longer I look at it the more outraged I get. Exactly why shouldn’t a Black Basketball player not be allowed to chock his White caoch. This is America and the freedom to express ourseves is in the Bill of Rights. At least it should be. Is this anymore ridiculus than paying someone 37 Million play a game

    Hello,

    It would appear that your site is quite conservative. I am very liberal, even left-wing. However, I enjoy your work and agree with your piece on Sprewell. I have a great deal of freedom in my job as a reporter. And our newsroom is a pretty laid-back place where anyone can express their views. However, if I ever tried to choke or smack my editor or publisher, I would be out the door in about 20 seconds. And I would have to agree that I deserved to be fired. As I said, I am very liberal, but cannot believe the ruling in this NBA case.

    the best of luck to you,
    Paul Nyden

    Time: 3/6/98 (18:45:36)

    Based on the way things are handled today, the guy who shot his fellow employees mistakenly shot himself. He could have Sprewelled it.

    I can’t believe that the other players are so gutless that they won’t boycott this one who is obviously out of control. I am ashamed that these people are held up by our young as role models. No wonder I never watch or read or otherwise even pay attention to sports and sports figures. The entire industry is obscene. Willie Mayes and Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth and other old timers were real men. Real men play by the rules.

    spewell is just an ignorant arrogant jock…..the arbitrator is the gutless son of a bitch!

    Time: 3/6/98 (14:40:28)

    From our leader (?) Bill Clinton to this pro-basketball jerk….I feel sorry for the children of this country who admire these buffoons…

    Spreewell is a punk. Anyone that would choke their boss, get fired for it then appeal to everyone that it was racial. Everyone in America that doesn’t like their boss now has the right to choke their boss and keep their job because of this….right? No way is that going to work in the real world. So I will say I will Not watch basketball again until REAL justice prevails.

    Several points:

    A. I suspect the suspension was lifted due to some obscure provision in the collective bargaining agreement between the players and the league.

    B. Most American major professional sports don’t know ho to cpde with violence. I remember that Pete Rose bumped (vigorouosly) but just bumped an umpire and was suspended for 30 (THIRTY) days.

    C. Soccer on the other hand, suspends a player that assaults an official for at lewast 1 year. A player ejected is suspoended automatically for the next game.

    I guess they hired a lawyer with no common sense. Quote (I don’t remember who: The Law is an ass.

    Time: 3/6/98 (9:36:22)

    A white player would have been incarcerated!

    If he were in any other profession he would be fired. But, if he were in almost any other profession, he would be able to go elsewhere and apply for a job in what he does. As long as the NBA is going to act like a cartel, they will be treated as such. I agree, any basketball court he graces from now on the fans should boo until he leaves the court. But, he should have the right to try and go somewhere else. Let the team fire him. His actions warrant that and more. As long as coaches are in fear of losing their jobs because their afraid of “upsetting” the franchise player, they might as well hang up their coaching shoes. Most of the successful coaches were feared and then reveared. In this day of “feel good” pop-psychology and “no responsibility” behavior, there is going to be more Sprewells coming out of our nation’s colleges and Universities. Unless we the fans give the owners the only message they will hear, don’t buy the tickets and don’t buy any of the products with the NBA lables. That NBA product money is divided among all the teams. Also, hardest of all, don’t watch them on TV. If the ratings are low enough they can’t make their real bread-and-butter money. TV revenues. Remember, as long as the owners are making the money, they could care less what the players do off the court. Send them the message that we fans do care.

    Well, the NBA has gotten the last dollar that they will ever get from me. It is unfortunate that the same league that can produce truly class players like Michael Jordan, can also produce no class players like sprewell. I believe that until he is made to pay for his crime, the NBA should be boycotted

    So who is surprised at this development? Welcome to the wonderful world of zero-responsibility, and zero morals and values. This is the world we leave our kids. Is it any wonder that 10 year olds are serial killers.

    First it’s the spitting baseball player and now the NBA strangler whats next I have to wonder what has become of our high schools and universitys that churn out these social misfits

    If the team owner actually allows him to play, then the owner is completely sans cujones.

    Time: 3/5/98 (21:15:28)

    All the crying because Carlisimo is abusive. Boo-hoo. Disagreement is a part of life. If I were to strangle every person I’ve ever disagreed with I’d be sharing a cell with big LeRoy. The decision is a sham. These whiners ought to try the military and try choking their DI when they think he’s “abusive”, then you can go and break rocks for the next 20 years.

    I have been told that Carlesimo is a very abusive person who provoked the attack. Is there any truth to this?

    I’m kind of the opinion that this is NOT a matter of race at all…it’s a matter of who has the most money, can afford the best lawyers, and who is in power and will help you..unions, etc. It’s all about money, if you ask me, and just how people can manipulate ANYTHING if they have enough of it.

    I Cannot believe the arbitrator decided for Sprewell. And to think this guy is teaching our future lawyers, judges and politicians. No wonder our system of justice is failing so badly. I can only hope that people will boycott any future games he plays in. If I were the Warriors or the coach, I would file a civil suit for assault and battery.

    I’m totally ticked-off that he got off, but I notice a lot of the Rage Back comments seem to make it out as a racial thing when I don’t believe race has anything to do with it. Whether he’s white, black, brown or purple striped he’s simply ignorant trash that is getting away with what any hard working NORMAL American would and should be put in jail for.

    Time: 3/5/98 (19:34:23)

    That’s it as far as I am concerned. I now know for sure that the NBA stands for “Negro Basketball League. All Pro
    sports suck and I am through with them all. USA hockey team. Mo Vaughn. Now this! And, the owners all want zillion dollar stadium? Go %&*# yourselves pro “jocks”. They will never get my respect again…

    Time: 3/5/98 (18:59:49)

    All this talk about Sprewell and O.J. getting off easy because they’re black or are professional atheletes is a bunch of BULL….

    After all..Ted Kennedy is neither…

    I do not understand why P.J. did not file felonious assault charges. A conviction would have allowed the NBA to get rid of him as a convicted felon. At least he would probably have gotten some jail time.

    It’s amazing, that now blacks can kill innocent whites, strangle and assualt them and they wind up the “victims”. What’s wrong with this picture??

    This will be short and to the point-I think the Sprewell decision is an insult to anybody who has ever watched or gone to an NBA game. I, for one, will not do either in the future

    I think we need to stop giving everything involving a blck person the lable racial injustice, or because he’s black… We need to just look at how unbelievably wrong it is to let this man go on playing ball and making a whole lot of money doing so. I could care less if he is purple, the fact remains that he did an unexcuseable thing, and now the public is simply going to turn their heads and look the other way. I guess we just have to rely on, in the end everyone gets what they deserve!

    Suppose Carlesimo is an abusive, foul mouthed, coach. I mean what else can you expect out of California. Hey, back off I was born and raised there. OH! But if your name is Sprewell feel free to choke me because you are oppressed living in California and I am responsible for it somehow and since I insulted you and you haven’t got the brains to either ignore it or the wits to give it back to me about living in KY – you are justified. Basically my view of Sprewell and the arbitrator — dumb and dumber — in fact they could double for both parts.

    O.J. Simpson slashes two people to death, Sprewell assaults his coach, all of this is racial nonsense. If you’re black in this country, you can literally get away with murder because of the past. Nobody is punishing these high profile blacks, so that young blacks get the impression they can do anything. That’s why there are so many of them in the nation’s prisons.

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