Sprewell-Carlesimo A Sign Of The Times? Many Feel High-Paid Players Have A Choke-Hold On Authority

Coaches yell at players. Always have, always will.

“You have to understand, that’s coaching,” Seattle guard Hersey Hawkins said. “No big deal.”

To some NBA players, however, it is a very big deal. So they pout or quit, scream back or demand a trade, throw a towel in the coach’s face or orchestrate a mutiny.

And then there’s what Latrell Sprewell of the Golden State Warriors did to P.J. Carlesimo. At practice Dec. 1, Sprewell choked his coach, threatened to kill him, left the gym and came back 15 minutes later to go at him again.

Was it an isolated attack? Was it a microcosm of a society growing ever more hostile and rebellious?

Or was it a sign that the NBA increasingly has become a battleground between mega-rich players and coaches who earn much less?

Carlesimo’s $3 million annual salary is among his profession’s highest, but it’s less than half of what Sprewell’s take was before the suspension. Some players earn five, seven, 10 times as much as their coach.

“The player today has much more power in almost everything he does because of the money and because of the guaranteed contract,” Seattle coach George Karl said. “And the guy that’s losing power is the coach. Is that right or wrong? It’s just the truth.”

Los Angeles Lakers guard Eddie Jones said the NBA’s reputation as a “player’s league” has never been more deserved.

“I don’t think you can give (players) all that control and think they’re not going to misuse it sometimes,” he said. “Give the coaches the control so they can stop someone from flipping out.”

Said Portland coach Mike Dunleavy: “You have more of a chance for some guys who are … set for life to become, at times, jerks and to be willing to stretch the limit of patience and decorum.”

But don’t put all the blame on the players, Cleveland forward Danny Ferry said.

“The coaches’ egos are bigger and the players’ egos are bigger,” he said. “The league has gotten so much attention, notoriety and money. If there is more (acrimony) now, perhaps that’s why.”

In addition to most players being black and most coaches being white, there is a significant age difference.

“You have different cultures clashing because they don’t understand each other,” Philadelphia’s Terry Cummings said. “It’s just like the way our society is.”

Larry Bird, one of the greatest players ever and now Indiana’s first-year coach, shakes his head when he thinks about his role in making today’s stars rich.

While with the Boston Celtics from 1979-92, he helped usher in the era of big-money contracts.

“I remember when I first came in the league, there was talk of drugs. I didn’t know if the league was going to survive,” he said. “The next 10 years, I was very proud of the fact that me, Magic (Johnson) and Michael (Jordan) … went out and did what we had to do to help build this league.

“We were always fighting to get more money for the players. Now, I think that was the wrong thing to do … because these players these days don’t really care about anyone but themselves.”

As for the player-coach relationship, he said: “I had my run-ins with coaches, but I didn’t try to choke them. I was always very good at knowing the coach was the boss.”

That line has become fuzzy in recent years, and perhaps even fuzzier in the days since the Sprewell attack and his suspension.

Houston forward Charles Barkley, who has backed off a threat to organize an All-Star game boycott to protest the punishment, said it was a bad sign that six Golden State players stood behind Sprewell on Tuesday as he pleaded at a news conference for another chance.

“Those players have an obligation to Latrell … but they have more of an obligation to the game of basketball,” Barkley said. “Them being at that press conference told me, ‘It’s all right to choke your coach.”’

Sprewell’s detractors have painted him as a troubled punk with a bad temper who has fought with teammates in the past. The punishment, they say, was too good for him.

The NBA suspended Sprewell for a year, the most severe penalty in league history for an act not related to drugs. The Warriors terminated the remaining three years on Sprewell’s contract, costing the All-Star guard $23 million. Grievances have been filed and an arbitrator will rule next month.

“If Latrell Sprewell came through the waiver list, we would not have any interest,” Celtics coach Rick Pitino said. “This is not the first problem Latrell Sprewell has had.”

Carlesimo, meanwhile, has been depicted by some as a control freak and screamer who got fired by Portland last off-season because he couldn’t relate to athletes.

“The players are getting away with everything these days,” said Kelly Tripucka, a former Detroit standout who is now a broadcaster. “If (NBA officials) don’t get total control back, the inmates are going to be running the asylum.”

While no player has said publicly that Sprewell was right for going after Carlesimo, many felt the punishment didn’t fit the crime.

“Way overreaction,” said Horry, a former teammate of Sprewell’s at Alabama and now with the Lakers. “Banning him is ridiculous.”

Jordan, basketball’s premier player and predominant image-maker, also felt the penalty was too harsh. He offered his own solution.

“I think (Sprewell) should seek help to control his anger,” Jordan said. “And P.J., if he has a problem communicating with the players, he needs to seek counseling as well.”

Counseling? For screaming at a player during practice or a game?

“It is a yelling business,” said Dallas coach Don Nelson. “You have to get the players’ attention.”

Atlanta forward Henry James expects to get chewed out occasionally.

“It’s a coach’s job,” he said. “Even if it’s nasty, it shows they care.”

Sprewell called it “verbal abuse.”

But Philadelphia’s Doug Overton said coaches must realize that “times are definitely changing.”

“What used to be constructive criticism is now abuse,” he said.