TALL MEN BEHAVING BADLY

By Joel Stein

Put a little mustard on it? Put a little mustard on it? Who does he think he is? Why I oughta...

With thoughts like that, Latrell Sprewell, the Golden State Warriors' leading scorer and biggest hothead, took a short break during practice last Monday to throttle coach P.J. Carlesimo, who had just told him to "put a little mustard on the passes" during a shooting drill. After the two were separated, Sprewell took a 15-minute cooldown in the locker room before heading back to fight through teammates to get to Carlesimo again and yell "I'm going to kill you! You better get me off this team, or that's what I'm going to do." It was the most dramatic moment of the Warriors' inept season and landed Latrell not only a canceled contract, a shredded endorsement deal with Converse and a yearlong ban from the NBA, but also the finger wagging of every sports pundit in the country.

Yes, what Spree did was bad, and, no, you really shouldn't choke your boss, especially in front of your co-workers. But how bad was it? Sprewell's contract was the first ever terminated through paragraph 16A1 of the uniform player contract, which prohibits "acts of moral turpitude." And the yearlong ban was, by 10 months, the longest in NBA history. Was what Sprewell did that much worse than Charles Barkley's throwing a guy through a plate-glass window? Worse than Barkley's spitting on a fan? Worse than Barkley's punching a guy in a bar? In a world in which players are richer, more popular and much bigger than their bosses, the NBA thinks attacking a coach is more egregious than hitting umpires, cameramen or fans. And so do most fans. The few who didn't cheer Carlesimo had their pro-Spree signs confiscated by officials at the Oakland Arena last Thursday. Even some of Spree's teammates agree with the league's decision. "I hope this sets an example for young players," says center Todd Fuller. As a talk-radio villain, Spree has virtually replaced Saddam.

That's because this is an issue of authority and respect, and most people see Sprewell--with his history of bad behavior and flashiness--as an extreme case to be made an example of. When other coaches were interviewed about the problems in the league, the older, whiter group repeatedly used the terms "respect for authority" and "lack of discipline." With their power eroding, coaches like Carlesimo and Don Nelson--who have a history of losing records and losing personalities--can't think of any way to earn respect other than yelling louder.

Carlesimo has had trouble with his players at every stop in his coaching path, and is infamous for his profanity-strewn screaming sessions. Sprewell dated his conflict with Carlesimo to a Nov. 9 blow-up during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers. He told the San Francisco Chronicle, "The first time we got into it, I said, 'Don't talk to me like that. If you have to talk to me, talk to me like a man." No doubt Spree for Three complained of a lack of respect from Carlesimo partly because the stuffy white guy and corn-rowed punk have no common language. Put some mustard on the pass? Who talks like that? Red Holzman?

Not everyone, however, sees this as an issue of race or respect. "It's unfortunate that every time there is an incident between a white person and a black person, they say it's racial," says Warrior Adonal Foyle, who is black. But, in a league in which 80% of players are black and almost all the coaches are white, there is an intrinsic racial issue. On Friday, San Francisco newspapers quoted Mayor Willie Brown as saying Sprewell's actions "may have been justified" and asked the N.A.A.C.P., Jesse Jackson and Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris to investigate the incident.

Tension, of course, is an inevitable part of team sports. The Golden State Warriors are a frustrated team: at the time of this incident, they had only one victory. Just five years ago, they were among the most promising teams in the NBA, with Chris Webber, Tim Hardaway, Chris Mullin and Sprewell--all of them All-Stars. With Sprewell's departure, their best player is named Joe Smith. It's not a happy place to be, despite what Carlesimo may have told reporters. In an interview earlier this season on the league Website, NBA.com he said that "Latrell has been fantastic...One of the things that makes it so easy for us is that we have him and Joe setting the tone in practice. He's got a great work ethic." Except for the mustard thing.

Sprewell may very well be back in less than a year. Harsh penalties have a way of dissipating in the world of professional sports. Remember the return of Steve Howe after he was barred from baseball for life? Last week running back Lawrence Phillips--with a history of assault and drunk driving--was picked up by the Miami Dolphins just two weeks after being dropped by the St. Louis Rams. Before the Warriors decided to nullify Spree's contract, 10 teams called about picking him up in a trade. On Friday the NBA Players Association took the first step to bringing Sprewell back, launching a lawsuit against the yearlong suspension. Bill Hunter, the executive director of the players association, argues that the Warriors' decision was strictly economic. "This season is for all intents and purposes lost. They're 1 and 14. They dumped Latrell Sprewell because they could get relief under the salary cap," he says. Good luck with that defense. "It's going to be difficult," he says. "I admit that."

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. Not that the NBA is big on literary devices, but it seems it has a handle on foreshadowing. At the beginning of the season, the Warriors launched a radio campaign that regretted their image as nice guys (you know where they finish) and vowed a change:

No more Mr. Nice Guys.

No more Mr. Clean

No more Mr. Nice Guys.

Warriors, you will scream.

It makes you want to choke.

--Reported by Greg Fulton/Atlanta, Laird Harrison/Oakland, Mark Shulman/Chicago and David Thigpen/New York

With reporting by GREG FULTON/ATLANTA, LAIRD HARRISON/OAKLAND, MARK SHULMAN/CHICAGO AND DAVID THIGPEN/NEW YORK