On December 1, 1997, during practice, the Golden State Warriors’ Latrell Sprewell reportedly threatened to kill his coach, P.J. Carlesimo. Sprewell attacked Carlesimo twice during that practice. Shortly thereafter, the National Basketball Association (NBA) suspended Sprewell for one year, and the Warriors terminated his contract. (In March 1998, an arbitrator reduced the length of the suspension and ordered that the Warriors reinstate Sprewell’s contract.)

Although some observers considered Sprewell’s behavior and subsequent punishment to be another example of athletes misbehaving, others viewed it as a race-related issue—in particular, the relationships between a black athlete, his white coach, and a league dominated by white owners and management. When Sprewell initially explained what had happened, he contended Carlesimo’s verbal abuse led to the incident. Sprewell’s agent, Arn Tellem, suggested that Carlesimo’s...