Heat Announcer Apologizes for Comments About Slaves

Several Miami Heat players say they were offended by comments made by radio announcer Dave Halberstam during a game.

Halberstam said: “Thomas Jefferson would have been proud of that pass from Crotty.” He was talking about Miami point guard John Crotty, who played at Virginia, which Jefferson founded.

“When Thomas Jefferson was around, basketball was not invented yet, but those slaves working at Thomas Jefferson’s farm, I’m sure they would have made good basketball players,” Halberstam said during Wednesday night’s game against the Golden State Warriors.

“I am offended,” said Heat forward Keith Askins, who is black. “By someone making any comment like that, you have to wonder where it’s coming from. I mean if you don’t think that way, where did it come from? It’s very touchy.”

Crotty, who is white, agreed the announcer’s comment was out of line.

“It was a statement that was way off base,” Crotty said.

Halberstam, the team’s announcer for five years, apologized on the air before Friday’s game between the Heat and the Lakers.

“On Wednesday night, I made an off-the-cuff insensitive comment that could be misconstrued as offensive,” he said. “Friends, please accept my profound apologies. They’re from the bottom of my heart.”

*

Charlotte Hornet forward Anthony Mason will be sidelined from 10 to 21 days because of a torn tendon in his right foot. In his first season with the Hornets, the 6-foot-7 Mason is averaging 16.5 points, 11.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 66 games. He leads the club in rebounding and is second in scoring and assists.

*

New York Knick guard John Starks was suspended for one game by Coach Jeff Van Gundy and was not with the team for Saturday night’s road game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The suspension stemmed from a pre-practice argument Friday, the latest in a string of flare-ups between Van Gundy and Starks. Starks, averaging 13.7 points in 26.6 minutes, was expected to be in uniform tonight when the Knicks returned home to play the Portland Trail Blazers.

*

Miami center Alonzo Mourning, sidelined since Feb. 21 because of a foot injury, made the trip with the Heat for today’s game at Minnesota.

Coach Pat Riley said Mourning’s status is questionable. If the all-star center doesn’t play, he’ll probably return Wednesday against Sacramento.