CHANEY HAS REACHED POINT OF NO RETURN.(Sports) - Albany Times Union (Albany, NY)

Byline: BRIAN ETTKIN

They slapped John Chaney on the wrist with a boa, sent him to bed without milk and cookies, and ground him for three basketball games.

A kid has a fractured arm, his basketball career over because Chaney lost his temper and crossed a line that coaches must never transgress. Yet, Chaney will return 'to lead' his team in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. He's embarrassed Temple before, and since no one is inclined to stop him, why wouldn't Chaney do something 'reprehensible' - that's how Chaney described his actions - again?

We give legends leeway. That's how Bob Knight coached Indiana long after his bullying and abusive behavior would've gotten lesser coaches fired.

We give legends a second chance at a second chance.

But Chaney has exhausted his.

Which is why Temple president David Adamany should've thanked Chaney for all he's done, then asked for his resignation.

Saint Joseph's John Bryant can't suit up to play on Senior Day. He won't be able to play in his final Atlantic 10 Tournament and the NCAAs or NIT, either. He'll watch it all because Chaney became so angered by how the referees officiated a game his team would lose that Chaney told 6-foot-8, 250-pound Nehemiah Ingram to become an elbow-throwing, body-shoving vigilante, to foul and befoul the night.

Chaney risked injury to young men for the sake of plaintively making known his displeasure. He didn't instruct Ingram to injure anyone. He did know that might happen anyway.

And you can't pardon Chaney's lapse in judgment because it occurred in 'the heat of the moment.' This was premeditated mayhem. In a conference call the day before, Chaney went Charles Bronson on Saint Joe's, Chaney complained about what he considered illegal screens set by the Hawks and told reporters he would insert 'one of my goons and have him run through one of those guys and chop him in the neck or something.'

Can you imagine your outrage if a coach did that against your son's team, and your son lay on a hospital bed because someone wanted to make a point?

The only thing Chaney proved was, at the age of 73, after more than 700 wins and a plaque in the Basketball Hall of Fame, he no longer should be coaching his team.

Now, supporters of coaches such as Chaney and Knight argue that their ugly public outbursts are outweighed by the greater good they've done. These coaches graduate players and instill values such as commitment and perseverance. That's true. In a sport in which coaches may take ethical shortcuts, these two don't cheat anyone.

But here's the rub: They demand self-discipline from players but won't control themselves. I don't recall Dean Smith or John Wooden wrestling with that.

Whereas in Chaney's third game coaching Temple he had to be pried off Stanford coach Tom Davis, just as Chaney's fingers had to be loosened from George Washington coach Gerry Gimelstob's trachea, in 1984. Chaney once went into the stands after fans. And everyone remembers his charging then-UMass coach John Calipari, who was seated on a podium during a news conference, and threatening, 'I'll kill you.'

Now this.

Chaney has three games to reevaluate his behavior and try to curb the anger that fuels him.

But change?

It's Temple that ought to make one.

Brian Ettkin can be reached at 454-5457 or by e-mail at bettkin@timesunion.com.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE TEMPLE'S JOHN CHANEY, who has coached for 33 years, has long had anger management issues.