NEWSPAPERS DIFFER OVER PAT RILEY'S GAFFE

By: Joe Nicholson Coach Offered Apology After Making Joke The Miami Herald published Miami Heat Coach Pat Riley's quip about sending 'the Gestapo'
to the homes of ex-New Yorkers who root for the Knicks instead of the hometown team. But
the Herald did not report further on Riley's May 16 use of the term, which was the name
of the Nazi secret police, while he was speaking about a group that includes many Jews. On the other hand, The New York Times published an 11-paragraph sidebar under a headline
saying, 'Riley Makes Remark, Then Offers Apology.' Herald Executive Sports Editor Richard Bush, whose paper carried the quote in the 15th
paragraph of an 18-paragraph basketball story, told E&P he was not surprised Riley's remark
'created a stir in New York.' Bush contended his paper, which had the most complete version
of the quote, was not remiss for failing to report further because it 'chose to take Riley at
his word' that he was joking. Here's the Herald's account of Riley's comments: Riley says the large contingent of Knicks fans at AmericanAirlines Arena works against the
Heat. 'It's the most unique place in the league,' Riley said. 'I go around to all these
arenas, and I've never seen it divided. All the New Yorkers who have lost their [butts] in
the stock market come here to retire. We're tracking them closely. If they have residence
in Miami for more than three months, we've got the Gestapo group out to their house.' Riley later apologized for the remark. Art Teitelbaum, the Miami-based director of the 12-state southern branch of the Anti-Defamation
League (ADL), declined to criticize Riley, who has lent his photo for an ADL anti-prejudice
poster, or the Herald, saying, 'Newspapers had an opportunity, if not an obligation.'