Sally Anthony’s antics fit perfectly in the colorful, crazy history of the American Basketball Assn., the red-white-and-blue ball league where fans once hanged an owner in effigy.

It’s not clear yet whether Anthony, co-owner of the fledgling Nashville Rhythm, is to be ridiculed or pitied, much less figuratively lynched, for her bizarre rant on court against the groundbreaking woman she hired to coach a men’s pro team.

What possessed Anthony to shout and swear at Ashley McElhiney for playing popular newcomer Matt Freije, Vanderbilt’s all-time leading scorer?

Last week, Anthony was all for Freije, a Shawnee Mission West product, when he was signed for a two-game deal for $10,000. Freije was playing his second game Saturday night against the Kansas City Knights when Anthony ordered him benched.

What drove Anthony to fire McElhiney and deliver an ultimatum to the players, threatening to fold the team if they didn’t like it?

McElhiney, the 23-year-old former point guard at Vanderbilt, had proved herself a credible coach, leading the Rhythm to six straight wins to start the season and an 18-7 record that put the team third in the ABA’s Blue division and sixth overall among 33 teams.

McElhiney’s age and sex didn’t matter. The players, to a man, liked her and respected her. They’re in this minor league, with roots that go back to Julius “Dr. J” Erving, hoping to get a shot at the NBA. They think McElhiney can help them get there.

“We definitely want Ashley to be the coach,” the Rhythm’s Adam Sonn said. “She’s done a phenomenal job. Sally totally overstepped her boundary, without even talking to the other owners about why she would do this. It’s a mystery to us, a ridiculous soap opera.”

Anthony, a singer who owns the team with her husband, Tony Bucher, and his business partner, Justin Christian, hired McElhiney to great fanfare last spring. Anthony saw her team and others being a stepping stone for a woman someday coaching in the NBA.

Instead, Anthony stepped all over McElhiney in front of her team and fans.

In the third quarter against the Knights, with the Rhythm trying to come back from 18 points down, Anthony charged onto the court to confront her coach.

McElhiney, who has declined to discuss the incident, tried to ignore Anthony and continue coaching. Security guards eventually led the owner off the floor.

The Rhythm came back to win 110-109. McElhiney didn’t go into the locker room, but Anthony did — to deliver her ultimatum to the players.

McElhiney’s firing is all the more perplexing since the Rhythm’s next game is Saturday night against St. Louis in McElhiney’s old high school gym in Gleason, Tenn.

McElhiney told the Associated Press that she did not want to discuss the matter at the moment, but would have something to say “in a few days.”

By that time, the Rhythm players hope, she will be back on the job.

“We’re confident things will be resolved,” Sonn said. “We’re feeling good that Ashley will be reinstated as the coach. The other owners will overrule Sally.”