Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan gave his opinions on the infamous incident of Latrell Sprewell choking his coach.
Advertisement
The NBA is not only a physically demanding sport but is also pretty emotionally taxing. We have often seen how players, team officials, referees and sometimes even the fans have a few altercations amongst them. Some of these feuds end up pretty quickly, while a few have quite some repercussions to it.
One such infamous incident occurred between former All-Star, Latrell Sprewell and the then-GSW coach P.J Carlesimo. Back in 1997, during one of the team practices, Carlesimo shouted at Sprewell to make better passes. Ideally, when a coach asks his player to do something it’s for that players own good. However, Latrell was enraged as his coach yelled at him.
Instead of making better passes, a short-tempered 27-year-old Sprewell ran up to his coach and started choking him in front of the entire squad. It didn’t just end there. After a few threats later, Latrell decided to come back after his shower and decided to punch his coach in the face.
Also Read: Bulls legend’s former head coach compared the ‘GOAT’ to biblical figures early on in his career
“I can’t fathom the idea of choking a coach ever”: Michael Jordan
This was one of the darkest times in Golden State Warriors franchise history, who were amongst the worst teams in the league at that moment. For his actions, the league decided to suspend the 6-foot-5 guard. During his absence, the team held a poor 19-63 record and obviously failed to make the postseason.
Many NBA players gave their two cents on the entire issue at that time. Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan too, gave his opinions about the whole fiasco. During a Christmas interview in 1997 with Ahmad Rashad, Jordan said:
“I can’t fathom the idea of choking a coach by no means no matter what he says. You gotta walk away. I have a conversation with a higher being, higher position person in that organization to voice my opinions about this coach, but the problem is that he (Sprewell) acted, and he has to pay a penalty for that.”
Also Read: Bucks’ MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo shares how he manages to stay locked in during the Playoffs
MJ himself had a bitter relation with Jerry Krause. Despite how much ever Mike hated him, he never let his emotions get the better of him and attack Jerry.
Clearly, Sprewell’s one bad incident led to his entire reputation being tarnished. Till today, Latrell Sprewell suffers the consequences of the actions he took back in 1997.
