Patroons launch internal investigation
April 2, 2007 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)
Albany Patroons News Release
1. Alleged Anti-semitic comments in the albany times union.
The patroons organization and the continental basketball association have requested to listen to the actual complete tape that was recorded by the times union columnist, brian ettkin.
The request was made in order to ascertain the validity of the quotations and the commentary by said reporter. We needed to know if the quotes attributed to mr. Richardson were reported accurately or taken out of context and to find in fact if they were mr. Richardson's own words. The times union and mr. Ettkin have refused to release the requested tapes. In addition, mr. Ettkin has refused to go on camera for various television interviews.
Emails received by the patroons organization have run approximately 50%-50% as far as favorable versus those in opposition.
On the national scene, the espn blog after their national television report indicated a strong margin in support of micheal ray richardson. Most of the favorable considered his remarks as complimentary rather than anti-semitic or demeaning. Much of the favorable responses came from jewish respondents.
After extensive discussions with professional sports and business figures who have had contact with micheal ray richardson over the years, along with the knowledge that the patroons organization have of him directly, we have concluded that mr. Richardson is not a bigot and had no intention of offending or insulting the jewish or the gay community. On the contrary, he intended to compliment the jewish community, although we believe that his words could have been selected in a better and more delicate way, if in fact the report was an accurate article. mr. Richardson has made public apologies in the print and the electronic media. He has reached out to the anti-defamation league to seek their advice and counsel. We have interviewed mr. Richardson and
We agree that mr. Richardson is not a bigot and had no intention of offending anyone in those remarks attributed to him. He also claims that some of which was quoted was never said by him. Therefore, considering the public interpretation of what has transpired, the positive efforts taken immediately by mr. Richardson, our own personal interviews with richardson and his associates, and the unwillingness of the times union and their reporter to make available the undoctored tapes of the interview, it makes it impossible for us to know what was actually stated and the longer the delay the less chance the tapes will remain unblemished. We have deemed the investigation into the tapes inconclusive because of the refused release of the tapes, but based upon the above, the suspension shall not apply to mr. Richardson's comment to the times union. Therefore, the suspension shall not apply to this allegation.
2. Inappropriate language of professional basketball coach directed to patroons' fans
The albany patroons fans have always come first in the eyes of the Patroons' organization. Historically , our professional coaches have always been held to a higher standard. Any inappropriate language directed to our fans by any of our professional coaches has not and will not be tolerated no matter how provocative it may be. We have spoken to more than one fan who has been the recipient of these type of outbursts.
The suspension stands on point #2- inappropriate language directed to fans and as stated previously, no suspension shall be applied to point #1- alleged anti-semitic comments reported in the times union.
Other teams have shown an interest, through the season to the present, in hiring micheal as their head coach. He has been in preliminary negotiations with them. The patroons shall honor the balance of this season's contract, thereafter, he shall be deemed a free agent and is free to negotiate with other teams in preparation for next season. We are sure that he will continue to ascend the professional basketball ladder and have a successful career.
Continental Basketball Association 1 Stories from April 2, 2007
- CBA Weekly - CBA 1
- Phil Jackson and Mendy Rudolph elected to Basketball Hall of Fame - CBA 1
- Patroons launch internal investigation - Albany Patroons
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
