Don Nelson Has to Stop Drinking at Press Conferences

We were already aware of the fact that Warriors' coach Don Nelson likes to enjoy an alcoholic beverage (or six) while forming his game plans. But we've now learned that the alcohol consumption extends to the post-game festivities as well. Check out the video of Nellie swigging from a Bud Light can before the Game 4 post-game press conference begins.

Now many of us like to enjoy a cold beverage after a hard day's work, and it's not like a single beer is going to impair anyone of Nellie's, um, stature. The problem is, doing it in full view of the press during his playoff media sessions isn't exactly something the NBA can get behind, and in fact they've made sure we won't be seeing it in the future. Which is a shame, really. I understand why the league has to do this, but ultimately it will prevent us from getting any more beautiful moments like this one:

After the series-clinching win on May 3, Nelson was watching the Turner Network Television broadcast while waiting to begin his press conference. Charles Barkley, a Turner analyst who had picked the Mavericks, was wearing a ``We Believe'' T- shirt worn by fans of the Warriors.

According to a Sports Illustrated account, Nelson raised his beer and called out, ``The Chuckster,'' referring to Barkley.

You may recall that Barkley, like some other crazy people in the media, predicted an easy Dallas victory over Nellie's Warriors in their first round series. But seriously, what's the NBA coming to when a drunken head coach can't raise a glass beer can to toast a television analyst in jest? Next you'll tell me that players can no longer taunt fans by waving wads of cash at them.