A few days ago, I posted about the ostensibly anti-Semitic remarks from former NBA basketballer Micheal “Sugar” Ray Richardson. Given the choice of language he used, plus the fact that he used a derogatory term for gay men, I suspected anti-Semitism at play. But Israellycool readers felt it was just a case of poor wording, with some even suggesting he admired Jews.
Looks like I may have been wrong, and you all right. At least according to NBA Commissioner, David Stern, who states that not only is Richardson not anti-Semitic, but some of his best friends children are Jewish.
David Stern has always said that his hardest job in 23 years as NBA commissioner was kicking Micheal Ray Richardson out the league for drug abuse in 1986.
The Commish also happens to be one of the most prominent Jews in sports, if not the United States.
So if I wanted to hear anyone’s reaction to Micheal Ray’s comments about Jews this week, it was Stern’s.
“My reaction is that if I were the commissioner [of the CBA], for the inappropriate and insensitive remark he made about gays, I would have suspended him,” Stern said by phone Friday.
“But I have no doubt that Micheal Ray is not anti-Semitic. I know that he’s not. A number of his children happen to be Jewish. He has a former Jewish wife. He may have exercised very poor judgment [in what he said], but that does not reflect Micheal Ray Richardson’s feelings about Jews.”
Marc Stein, from whose blog I found the above quote, adds the following fact:
Let me add a little-known fact. The first country Richardson played in after his banishment from the NBA? You guessed it: Sugar had a brief stint in Israel with the tiny club Hapoel Ramat Gan.
So looks like I may have been wrong. Hey, it can happen, you know.
