All right!
That's it!
Micheal Ray Richardson, he of the lifetime NBA ban because of three drug-related suspensions, just officially revoked athlete's right to speak on anything other than a pick and roll, a fastball over the heart of the plate or a 60-yard TD run from scrimmage.

I mean, lets face it, folks like Micheal Ray continually solidify what a lot of us secretly believe deep down inside, although we might never say it publicly ... that most, if not all, athletes just ain't that bright.

Lets go to the video tape...

Tuesday, before a Continental Basketball Association playoff game against the Yakima Sun-Kings, Richardson ... now coach of the Albany (NY) Patroons ...  when discussing whether a contract offered him by the team is satisfactory said: "I've got big-time lawyers. I've got big-time Jew lawyers."

A reporter said "Uh, hey Mike, that might offend some people ... might stereotype 'em ... don't ya think?"

To which Richardson replied: "Are you kidding me? They (his Jewish lawyers) are (crafty). They've got the best security system in the world. Have you ever been to an airport in Tel Aviv? They're real crafty. Listen, they are hated all over the world, so they've got to be crafty."

Oooooo-k, Mike.

He didn't stop there, though.
No suh! Not Mike.

Later, during the game he reportedly shouted to a fan who was heckling his team: "Shut the [expletive] up." And near game's end, he shouted at another heckler, "Shut the [expletive] up, you [derogatory term for gay men]."

So, what do we learn from this?

That:
 (a) All athletes are stupid;
 (b) All athletes are racist;
 (c) Only Michael Ray Richardson is stupid and racist;
 (d) Lets stop sticking microphones in athlete's faces and hope for anything remotely intelligent;
 (e) All of the above.

For some of you, the obvious answer is (a).
For others, you'll probably pick (c).
Still others, (d).
And, no doubt, several more of you answered (e).

The correct answer lies somewhere in between all of those, though.

But its just not fair to think that a professional athlete will ever be anything more than the same person he or she was during their playing days ... a professional athlete.

A person who used their "physical" (please note the word physical) skills to their highest level to gain fame and fortune.
They weren't being paid to deduce the hypotenuse of the triangle or determine how much solid fuel it takes in an Atlas booster rocket to push the space shuttle into earth orbit.

Their thing was ... that's right ... executing the pick and roll, firing a fastball over the heart of the plate at 102 miles an hour or breaking a 60-yard TD run from scrimmage.

Lets cut the crap ... there's nothing surprising about what "most" (please note the word most) athletes say.

What's surprising is that we're continually surprised by what they say.

Darron Patterson is an award-winning freelance writer based in Detroit...