Being a player is the thing - New York Knicks' Latrell Sprewell - Brief Article

The warm reception Latrell Sprewell has received in New York is the latest example of a troubled player being forgiven because he is a gifted athlete

The city is clutching him tightly, the way he once did P.J. Carlesimo's neck, only this is a romantic, lip-lock kind of embrace. Latrell Sprewell is choking from New York's affection. Imagine that.

"I'm surprised," he says. "Very much so. I thought I would have to prove myself for a month first. But they kind of accepted me from the first night out, before I put up my first shot."

On the day they announced he was coming, Lady Liberty tossed aside her torch and hoisted a basketball. Ellis Island re-opened its doors. New York City welcomed another immigrant, the most notorious basketball player of the past few years.

Almost immediately, the switchboard at the Knicks' offices began buzzing. Cheap seats were scooped up. Spike Lee traded his John Starks No. 3 jersey for a Sprewell No. 8. Cornrows became the new fashion trend on the streets.

More than a year ago, Mike Lupica, one of the city's tabloid sports columnists, led all Sprewell-bashers in the days following the infamous choking incident. Lupica devoted almost a week's worth of columns depicting Sprewell as the Antichrist of sports. Once Sprewell became a Knick, Lupica miraculously turned mushy and suggested that maybe it's time to forgive.

And then in the team's first home exhibition game, a sellout crowd cheered Sprewell and mostly booed Patrick Ewing, forgetting the 13 good years Ewing served in New York while remembering the brief, clumsy moment he spent as the player's union president.

"This is nice," Sprewell said.

This is a classic case study of how the sports community can forgive one of its own, provided that he can shoot a basketball, score a goal, hit homers or run for more touchdowns than most. You get second chances in sports, but there's a catch: It happens only if you're very good at what you do. You can hit your pregnant girlfriend, snort cocaine, beat up a guy in a bar, get arrested for just about anything or even choke your coach. You can do that, and if you can improve a team, someone will get on their knees with a brush and scrub your slate clean.

"I'd have to say that's true," says Dave Checketts, the Knicks' CEO who once swore he'd never take a risk on a bad boy. "We think Latrell can help us. We want to win. That's why he's here."

It brings us back to what Tony Dorsett once said, about 15 years ago, when he tested the patience of Cowboys fans with a holdout. Dorsett was asked how long he expected the fans to hold it against him. He thought the question was silly.

"All it takes," Dorsett said, "is one touchdown." One touchdown later, he was a hero again.

The talented are tolerated. That's the rule in sports. You can misbehave, as long as you're good. And the better you are, the more you can get away with. You want to know why Lawrence Phillips is out of football? It has nothing to do with pulling his former girlfriend at Nebraska down the steps by her hair. It has nothing to do with the alleged run-in with another woman at a nightclub in Miami. Phillips is out because he couldn't carry a football very far in St. Louis or Miami. His feeble effort on the field couldn't make people forget his deplorable conduct off it.

Michael Irvin can catch passes, Isaiah Rider can score baskets, Dave Meggett can return kicks and Tony Phillips can steal bases. That's why they're still getting paychecks. If Randy Moss stumbles this offseason, while he's away from the hand-holding presence of Cris Carter, do you think the Vikings will dump him? Don't be naive. The moral line in sports is always curved for the gifted.

Lakers G.M. Jerry West, recognized as the best in the business, was once quoted by a New York reporter saying he'd take a look at anybody, "as long as they're not an ax murderer," and that's the philosophy shared by most.

There was minor resistance toward Sprewell, mostly talk-radio blather, but very quickly, New York made him one of its own. A sports town that's traditionally tough decided to lend a soft shoulder for an outcast, and if this can happen in New York, it can happen anywhere. "I couldn't have landed in a better place," Sprewell says. "This is the No. 1 spot for me." What a great message to All-Stars and All-Pros everywhere:

Even you can screw up and not get screwed.

Shaun Powell, a columnist for Newsday, writes a monthly column for THE SPORTING NEWS.

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