On Friday night, a live pregame segment on NBA TV quickly turned into a heated on-air exchange when former NBA player and coach Sam Mitchell reacted strongly to a joke about his salary made by host Chris Miles. The incident occurred during a discussion before the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings preseason game.
The tension began when the conversation turned to Olympic basketball coaches not receiving gold medals. In reference to Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who led Team USA to a gold medal in Paris but didn’t receive a medal himself, Sam Mitchell expressed surprise at this fact, stating, “I saw that. Coaches don’t get a medal. I guess it just tells you, (in) international (basketball) how they value coaches. Not at all. How do coaches (not) get a gold medal?”
Miles then attempted to inject humor into the conversation, saying, “I’m surprised coaches get a paycheck for this show. I think like maybe you should do this pro bono.” This comment seemed to have irritated Mitchell, who responded defensively, “You know, last time I looked at my check, it’s pretty close [to pro bono]. So hey, I’m taking donations. Why don’t you come up off some of that money you got since you over there bragging about it?”
What followed was an uncomfortable minute-long exchange that quickly veered into personal territory. Mitchell began referencing Miles’ personal property, asking, “Did you rent your beach house out down in Florida during the hurricane? Or do I need to go on about your townhouse over at Buckhead?”
Miles, caught off guard by the sudden shift in tone, attempted to defuse the situation by asking, “Hey, what’s going on?” However, Mitchell continued, saying, “You want to call me out. You screaming broke and hungry. Let’s just see it.”
The situation became even more tense when Sam Mitchell appeared to threaten revealing Chris Miles’ address on air. He stated, “You know, I know what you’re having, where you live young fella,” while Miles laughed nervously. “I done told you, young fella. You got to stop messing with me on national TV. I done told you about that,” Mitchell warned. He then added the most alarming statement of the exchange: “Hey, do I need to give out the address? ‘Cause you’re not at home right now.”
Throughout the uncomfortable interaction, Miles tried to steer the conversation back to the upcoming game, saying at one point, “I think it’s time for us to talk about the Warriors and Kings.” However, Mitchell was not easily deterred from his personal attacks.
When Miles called him a “snitch,” Mitchell sharply disagreed. “No, we don’t have snitches,” he retorted. “We have truth-tellers. So you’re the one who’s crying poor and destitute up here when… Do I need to keep going further? Or do you want me to stop right now?”
This back-and-forth appeared to have overshadowed the actual game between the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings, which the Warriors won 109-106. As of the time of writing, the NBA TV network has not yet released an official statement regarding the incident. It remains to be seen whether there will be any repercussions for Sam Mitchell’s on-air behavior.