Is crying necessarily a bad thing?

Is crying the last emotional frontier in men's sports?

Anyone who spent time tweeting or listening to sports talk radio during the past two days had to wonder, as there seemed to be quite an outcry over coach Erik Spoelstra's comments after the Heat's 87-86 loss to the Bulls on Sunday. Spoelstra had the gall to say "there are a couple of guys crying in the locker room right now" because of the disappointment of suffering a fourth straight loss.

Now, if Spoelstra had said one of his players came in and punched a locker, no one would have batted an eye. If he had said a few players cleared the air and exchanged words with one another, many fans might have thought that was a good thing. But because he admitted his players did something that almost every one of us has wanted to do after a huge personal or professional disappointment, there were more than a few eyebrows raised around the league.

Crying in front of teammates is just something that's not done very much in the NBA, according to Knicks guard Anthony Carter. He was part of one of the most heart-wrenching moments in Heat history as he missed a three-pointer in Game 6 of the 2000 playoff series against the Knicks. That shot would have won the series. Instead, the Heat went on to lose it in seven games.

Still, he said no one on his team cried.

"It's a big shock for me to hear that someone is crying after a game," Carter said. "Some guys are more sensitive than others and really take it to heart. But I've never seen a guy cry after a game. Not in AAU or anything."

Another Knick, who asked not to be named, said he can't recall seeing anyone cry about a game, adding that the last time he remembered doing so was in high school.

But is it so bad to show one's disappointment to a teammate? Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni doesn't think so. Nor does he think it was such a bad thing that Spoelstra talked about it to the media.

"He was just being honest," D'Antoni said. "There's nothing wrong with crying. I'd be glad they care. It would build something if it doesn't break it. That's the whole thing. They're going through something now, and it will make them stronger."

Spoelstra said Monday he didn't regret revealing that a few of his players were crying, but he added that the whole thing had been blown out of proportion, referring to it as Crygate.

"This is a classic example of sensationalism, looking for a headline,'' Spoelstra was quoted as saying by ESPN.com. "I really think you guys are probably reaching for this. Guys were very emotional about it in the locker room. Heads were down. I saw glossy eyes, but that's about it. I think everything else is probably an exaggeration.''

No one has revealed which players were crying, though there has been quite a bit of conjecture on the Internet and likely in various NBA locker rooms.

Knicks president Donnie Walsh said it really isn't as unusual as people think for a player to cry after a game.

"These guys put a lot of energy and a lot of emotion into what they're doing," he said. "When you give it everything you've got and it doesn't work, it happens."

The Heat joined a long line of athletes who have garnered attention for crying. Adam Morrison sobbed on the court in the final seconds of Gonzaga's NCAA Tournament loss in 2006. Roger Federer broke down during the Australian Open trophy presentation in 2009. And Brett Favre choked up to the point that he couldn't speak during his first retirement news conference.

But those all came at career-defining moments, not after a regular-season loss. Carter believes that might be the most interesting thing about the report out of the Heat locker room.

Said Carter: "It could be a good sign for the organization and the team. If you got some guys that want to win and feel the pain when they lose like that, it could be a good thing."