News Brief

A basketball coach who made what some saw as anti-gay and anti-Semitic remarks will not have his contract renewed. The Continental Basketball Association’s Albany Patroons parted ways Wednesday with Micheal Ray Richardson, a former NBA player. Richardson was suspended March 28 for the team’s last two playoff games, a day after he told the Albany Times Union that he had ”big-time Jew lawyers” working for him. The coach also yelled at hecklers during the first playoff game, using profanity and an anti-gay slur. General Manager James Coyne said he and Richardson had spoken before the hoopla and that the coach was negotiating with other teams. ”We pretty much agreed earlier on he wouldn’t be coming back to the CBA,” Coyne said. But Richardson’s lawyer said the suspension had put his client’s career in jeopardy, and might make it hard for him to get other coaching jobs. ”Now he’s labeled the rest of his life as anti-Semitic, and he’s not,” attorney John Aretakis said. ”He’s got two kids who are being raised Jewish. He’s got an ex-wife he has a good relationship with who is Jewish.” In the newspaper interview, Richardson had said, ” If you look in most professional sports, they’re run by Jewish people. If you look at a lot of most successful corporations and stuff, more businesses, they’re run by Jewish [people]. It’s not a knock, but they are some crafty people.” Richardson said he apologized to the hecklers after the game and to anyone who was offended by his remarks.