Shooting spree
by Jon Worley

The headlines are tedious. So many athletes have been involved in off-field and off-court violence that it's hard to keep track of who did what to whom where.

Charles Barkley of the Houston Rockets tosses a guy through a window, and justifies his behavior because the tossee tossed a drink in Sir Charles's face. Wilfredo Cordero of the Boston Red Sox beats his wife, convinces her to not testify against him and still gets convicted. Raul Diaz Arce and Mario Gori of the D.C. United face rape charges. Jake Plummer, rookie quarterback sensation for the Arizona Cardinals, pleads guilty to sexual assault charges. And these are only some of the highest profile cases of the past six months.

The player getting the most attention, however, is Latrell Sprewell. Because he didn't attack someone outside the game, but his own coach. His actions were judged particularly offensive because he came back for more 20 minutes after his first assault.

Now, before you misconstrue what I am about to say, I think Latrell Sprewell deserves to lose his $32 million contract with the Golden State Warriors. He deserves at least a one-year ban from playing in the NBA. He's got them both.

The players union and even a few players and team owners charge racism and discrimination in this case. While certainly the NBA is a league which still struggles with racism, it's miles ahead of, say, the NHL, which still has to endure the sound of its players screaming racial slurs. Of course, there's a NHL team whose nickname is Canucks. 'Nuff sed.

As for the discrimination charge, that's quite legitimate. The NBA discriminated against Sprewell not because he's black, but because he played for Golden State. Golden State's ownership isn't among the power center of the league, and the team's record has been one of the league's worst since the Warriors traded then rookie-of-the-year Mitch Richmond to Sacramento. To be frank, the NBA has wanted to take a stand against the "uppity" attitudes of some players for quite some time.

Sprewell's initial transgression, choking his coach and threatening to kill him, was not enough to warrant any serious action. So sayeth the NBA. What did him in was his return 20 minutes after the first incident, when repeated his hostile actions and threats. See, it's okay to get into fights and such in practice, because the root of the player-coach relationship as practiced by coaches like the Warriors' P.J. Carleisimo is one which follows closely the macho code. At some point, the argument is won by whoever can state with authority: "Mine's bigger." I'm not kidding here. Ask any boy who played football, basketball or baseball. Most coaches encourage physical solutions to problems, and this certainly includes posturing and fighting.

When confused or desperate, coaches generally resort to grabbing their groins and spitting. Thus you get incidents like New England coach Bill Parcells referring to Patriots wide receiver Terry Glenn as "she". Repeatedly and pointedly during a televised press conference. Or Jackie Sherrill castrating a bull before a big game for his Mississippi State football team. Did these challenges work? Who knows. In the long run, it really doesn't matter.

All I'm saying is that we shouldn't be surprised when a player like Nick Van Exel of the Los Angeles Lakers attacks a referee during a game. He got a seven-game suspension, as I recall. That action deserved a one-year ban as well, but the Lakers' ownership has extensive influence with the league office, and anyway, the Lakers are one of the glamour teams of the league. No way was the NBA going to keep Nick out of the playoffs or even seriously damage the Lakers' chances.

Same goes for when Dennis Rodman headbutted a ref. He got ten games, mostly because of his lengthy rap sheet. But if he didn't play for the Bulls, he would have been gone for much longer as well. Incidents like Van Exel's and Rodman's make Roberto Alomar's "spitting" on an umpire (I've seen the video many times, and I'm not sure much spittle actually reached the ump) look like a pleasant conversation over tea.

There are other ways of motivating players than berating them into submission. After all, most players want to perform well. During the NCAA women's soccer semi-finals last Friday, a Santa Clara player was shown crying on the sideline after missing a shot that would have put her team up on defending national champion North Carolina. Her coach consoled her, and not one word of ridicule came from the announcer's booth. Later in the game, her angst cleansed, she played with even more intensity than before.

This isn't a gender thing, either. I've seen plenty of male athletes cry during and after games. One of the most poignant sports photos I've ever seen was a picture of Kansas City Royals' shortstop Fred Patek slumped over in an empty dugout after losing the American League Championship Series to the Yankees. I think it was 1977, but it could have been 1978. I was young, and the Royals lost three straight series to the Yankees in the mid-70s. I get confused. The point is, that photo embodies everything that is great about sports. You give everything you have, and when you lose, you deal with it honestly, fully, and then you get back up again. After losing those three series, in 1980 the Royals beat the Yankees and went to the World Series.

That's the real virtue of sportsmanship. That's what the millions of people who play competitive sports should get from their experience. Not how to bash people's brains in, but how to deal with adversity and eventually succeed.

Yeah, many of today's pro athletes are spoiled brats who have had a good number of things handed to them on a platter. They have ungodly physical gifts, a physical genius, if you will. But, to paraphrase what Rick James once said of Prince, they may be geniuses, but some of them need a real ass-kicking in the human being department.

Or is that the wrong message to send?

Jon Worley watched North Carolina win its 14th NCAA women's soccer championship Sunday afternoon. Perhaps the Tar Heels haven't learned much about recovering from adversity, though, as the NCAA has handed out only 16 women's soccer championship trophies. UCLA, eat yer heart out.

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