Commentary: Richardson’s remarks show insensitivity

Micheal Ray Richardson is often so endearing and playful that some official in power, somewhere, inevitably will give him a sixth or ninth chance. And then, just as surely, the former basketball star will do something so self-destructive, so outrageous, the philanthropist ends up kicking himself for being such a sucker.

So ended, with predictable unpredictability, another chapter in the wild life of Richardson, the former Knicks’ and Nets’ playmaker. He was suspended Wednesday from his position as coach of the Albany Patroons for the rest of the season, just as that team was about to play Game 2 of the Continental Basketball Association finals.

In one unforgivable night on Tuesday, Richardson reportedly insulted gays and Jews with a frightening lack of grace or sophistication. The Patroons issued an apology. Richardson on Wednesday told the CBA director of operations, Dennis Truax, that he had assumed his talk with reporters was an off-the-record discussion of world events. Those who know the man understand that his words came from ignorance and not from any innate meanness.

But it was all inexcusable nonetheless, and Richardson’s career here in America well may be finished for a second time.

“We had to react,” said Jim Coyne, general manager of the Albany Patroons. “He didn’t deny he said some things, though he said he may have been quoted out of context. He hasn’t decided yet what he’s going to do now. The wind is out of his sails today.”

Before a loss in Game 1 to the Yakama Sun Kings, Richardson was asked by Albany Times Union reporters about his contractual status for the upcoming U.S. Basketball League season. He was then quoted in a column by Brian Ettkin as responding, “I’ve got big-time lawyers. I’ve got big-time Jew lawyers.” He went on with little or no prodding to say, “They know that in this country the Jews are running it if you really think about it. I mean, which is not a bad thing, you know what I mean?

“They got a lot of power in this world, you know what I mean?” Richardson said. “Which I think is great. I don’t think there’s nothing wrong with it. If you look in most professional sports, they’re run by Jewish people. If you look at a lot of most successful corporations and stuff, more businesses, they’re run by Jewish. It’s not a knock, but they are some crafty people. Listen, they are hated all over the world, so they’ve got to be crafty.”‘

This whole unfortunate and ill-conceived discussion well may have gone unreported, except that Richardson then made the exchange more relevant by responding to a heckler during the Patroons’ game at the Washington Armory, calling him a derogatory name for a homosexual.

Richardson told Coyne and Truax that he didn’t remember saying all the things cited in the newspaper. Coyne asked the Times Union for a tape of the interview, but editors refused the request. No newspaper would turn over a tape to a team official under these circumstances.

“The time I’ve known Michael, I’ve never seen anything of this nature,” Coyne said. “We’ve had rabbis here, all ethnic groups, we never had a problem.”

Richardson, 51, was once married to a Jewish woman. During his days with the Nets, he was close to Jewish owners on the team. NBA commissioner David Stern, a Jew, resurrected Richardson’s career here in the U.S. by recommending him for a position in community relations for the Denver Nuggets and then as coach of the Patroons.

Back in 1986, Richardson became the first player suspended by Stern and the NBA for drug violations. His two-year coaching stint with the Patroons has been both rocky and successful. This season alone, he refused to shake the hand of an opposing coach, went to Las Vegas for the NBA All-Star Game against Coyne’s wishes and completed a trade without the approval of the general manager.

Through it all, until Tuesday, Coyne was hopeful that Richardson might remain coach of a team he had led to a division title and to the brink of a league championship. Now there is only an investigation, a suspension. The man known as Sugar will likely return to the South of France, to be with his children. His assistant, Derrick Rowland, was coaching Wednesday night as the Patroons faced the Yakama Sun Kings in Game 2.

“It’s the same thing that happened to Al Campanis,” Truax said.

Ignorance, it turns out, is nothing like bliss.