Coaching is an all-encompassing profession. A successful coach must know his game thoroughly and how to teach it. He must be a master tactician and motivator -- and possess a knack for getting along well with people. He must also keep his poise in the white-hot heat of battle. Coaching in the NBA magnifies those qualities with its hectic game schedule, limited practice time, intense pressure to win and a media spotlight that gets up close and personal.

	Isiah Thomas had to be held back from going after Toronto's Morris Peterson.

Recently, there have been incidents where coaches have gotten overtly involved with a referee and/or opposing players. Utah's Jerry Sloan pushed an official following a disagreement over a missed call and received a seven-game suspension. Pat Riley of Miami and the Pacers' Isiah Thomas had confrontations with opposing players. Riley received no reprimand for his part in the incident, but the player, Ron Artest of Indiana, was suspended for four games.

Thomas got a two-game suspension for coming onto the floor as a "combatant," according to Stu Jackson, the NBA's watchdog over league demeanor, in an incident involving Toronto's Morris Peterson.

What is the coach's responsibility and when does he cross the line? The coach's primary function is to direct the performance of his team. He must focus on coaching his team so that they can win the game at hand. But he's also the team leader who, by his example, sets the tone for how his team plays.

In the current situations, the three coaches showed that they would not be intimidated by an official or an opposing player. That's a good quality that strengthens their status with their players.

	(I) started to pursue an official over what I considered a bad call, Bill Walton intercepted me and said, 'Coach, don't you know that we don't play well when you do that.'

But, while Riley restrained himself from physical action with the taunting Artest, Sloan crossed the line by making physical contact with the official, and so did Thomas by charging at an opposing player. Neither of those actions is acceptable.

When I coached Portland and started to pursue an official over what I considered a bad call, Bill Walton intercepted me and said, "Coach, don't you know that we don't play well when you do that."

I suddenly realized that my most important job was to coach my team.

Nothing has changed ... that's still the coach's No. 1 priority.

Dr. Jack Ramsay, who is an NBA analyst for ESPN, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.