It was on this day in 1997 that Latrell Sprewell was suspended for the remainder of the 1997-98 NBA season.  The punishment came as a result of a physical altercation with his head coach, P.J. Carlesimo.

While taking part in a practice during his playing days with the Golden State Warriors, Sprewell became enraged when he was told by Carlesimo to “put a little mustard” on his passes.  The four-time all-star was not impressed with the criticism, and he told his coach that he was not in the mood.  But Carlesimo didn't seem to care what Sprewell was in the mood for, and when he approached the guard, he was chocked for 7 to 10 seconds before teammates could intervene.  Sprewell eventually retreated to the locker room befo

re emerging in street clothes approximately 20 minutes later and going after Carlesimo again.

Sprewell was originally suspended for 10 games without pay, but that was changed shortly after to a one-year suspension by the NBA.  His contract–which had three years and $23.7 million remaining on it–was also voided by the Warriors, but Sprewell took the entire case to an arbitrator, who overturned the contract voiding and reduced his suspension from an entire season to just the remaining 68 games of the 97-98 season.

Here is a look at the media coverage of the Sprewell chocking incident.

Notable Birthdays

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