Criminal Behaviour in the NBA
July 5th 2006 13:47
Confession: Perfection bores this NBA writer. Well, there is no such thing as real perfection, but the imagery of flawlessness disinterests me. Athletes that lead seemingly idyllic lives are considered boring on this space – Ian Thorpe for one is someone who I find as a yawn. Where am I leading with this introduction? Well, the NBA is often perceived as a league that has criminals on every team roster. Could it be the fact that over 80% of NBA players are of African-American heritage so it is easy to label the league as a haven for miscreants?
Journalists in the United States love writing about stories of NBA players leading the thug life. Guess what? This NBA writer doesn’t care about the negative image of the league, but actually embraces it. There are crimes that aren’t cool though, but for the most part NBA players are getting arrested for inane things – consumption of marijuana and speeding are two crimes that often appear on the criminal blip.
Jeff Benedict in his book Out of Bounds: Inside the NBA’s Culture of Rape, Violence & Crime, he claims that 40% of players in the league have criminal records. It can be argued that the NBA is just a microcosm of society where criminals mix with law abiding citizens. It’s a strange phenomenon that the public places such unrealistic demands on athletes to act in a saintly matter because the reality is that no one on earth can live up to the expectations of perfect behaviour that people have with athletes.
The seedy side of life has always fascinated this humble writer so let’s write up a mini rap sheet of NBA players who have had brushes with the law.
Allen Iverson
AI is the alleged poster child of the NBA criminal. It doesn’t help with perceptions that he has cornrows, tattoos, bling and has a penchant for baggy clothing. However, he remains one of the most popular players in the NBA and has matured as he has established himself in the league.
Earlier in his career it was a different story. While in high school Iverson was incarcerated for a short period of time for his role in a bowling alley brawl that was allegedly racially motivated. Iverson and three other friends who were all black were jailed and convicted of a ‘maiming-by-mob’ charge that drew a 15-year prison sentence. After spending four months in jail the conviction was overturned due to a lack of evidence of Iverson’s involvement in the brawl.
In 2002 Iverson was once again in trouble with the law when he was arrested for gun and assault related crimes, but all charges were eventually dismissed.
Believe it or not Iverson is now a model NBA citizen. He is an elder statesman and during the 2004 Olympics was the exemplary American. This writer has always had love for either the good or bad Iverson.
Jason Kidd
When Jason Kidd was arrested in 2001 and charged with domestic abuse, which came as a shock for many NBA fans because Kidd has been a wonderful ambassador for the league. Kidd pleaded guilty and was ordered to attend anger management classes. Let’s just call this an aberration in behaviour in which we are all capable.
Dennis Rodman
Perhaps the most (in)famous NBA bad boy was former player Dennis Rodman who has been arrested numerous times for misbehaviour. In 1999 while being married to Carmen Electra the Worm was arrested for assaulting his wife, while Electra was charged with assaulting Rodman. All charges were subsequently dropped. Dennis over the years has been arrested for offences related to alcohol. Come on! Alcohol? The majority of the Australian public would be in trouble for grog related crime!
Damon Stoudamire
Mighty Mouse was once a member of the criminally renowned team of the Portland Trailblazers aka. Jailblazers. The Jailblazers of the 90’s were not only talented, but troublesome, with Damon leading the way. Stoudamire was
arrested for crimes related to marijuana in 2002, but got off the hook when the search was deemed illegal. Later that year he was in trouble for weed related crime again. However, the icing on the cake was in 2003 when he tried to pass through an airport metal detector with Mary Jane wrapped in foil. Let’s just get down on our knees and just proclaim Stoudamire as Stoner King Genius!
Journalists in the United States love writing about stories of NBA players leading the thug life. Guess what? This NBA writer doesn’t care about the negative image of the league, but actually embraces it. There are crimes that aren’t cool though, but for the most part NBA players are getting arrested for inane things – consumption of marijuana and speeding are two crimes that often appear on the criminal blip.
Jeff Benedict in his book Out of Bounds: Inside the NBA’s Culture of Rape, Violence & Crime, he claims that 40% of players in the league have criminal records. It can be argued that the NBA is just a microcosm of society where criminals mix with law abiding citizens. It’s a strange phenomenon that the public places such unrealistic demands on athletes to act in a saintly matter because the reality is that no one on earth can live up to the expectations of perfect behaviour that people have with athletes.
The seedy side of life has always fascinated this humble writer so let’s write up a mini rap sheet of NBA players who have had brushes with the law.
Allen Iverson
AI is the alleged poster child of the NBA criminal. It doesn’t help with perceptions that he has cornrows, tattoos, bling and has a penchant for baggy clothing. However, he remains one of the most popular players in the NBA and has matured as he has established himself in the league.
Earlier in his career it was a different story. While in high school Iverson was incarcerated for a short period of time for his role in a bowling alley brawl that was allegedly racially motivated. Iverson and three other friends who were all black were jailed and convicted of a ‘maiming-by-mob’ charge that drew a 15-year prison sentence. After spending four months in jail the conviction was overturned due to a lack of evidence of Iverson’s involvement in the brawl.
In 2002 Iverson was once again in trouble with the law when he was arrested for gun and assault related crimes, but all charges were eventually dismissed.
Believe it or not Iverson is now a model NBA citizen. He is an elder statesman and during the 2004 Olympics was the exemplary American. This writer has always had love for either the good or bad Iverson.
AI looking like he has lived the thug life. (Image from thesmokinggun.com)
Jason Kidd
When Jason Kidd was arrested in 2001 and charged with domestic abuse, which came as a shock for many NBA fans because Kidd has been a wonderful ambassador for the league. Kidd pleaded guilty and was ordered to attend anger management classes. Let’s just call this an aberration in behaviour in which we are all capable.
Tsk, tsk, tsk, bad Kidd. (Image from thesmokinggun.com
Dennis Rodman
Perhaps the most (in)famous NBA bad boy was former player Dennis Rodman who has been arrested numerous times for misbehaviour. In 1999 while being married to Carmen Electra the Worm was arrested for assaulting his wife, while Electra was charged with assaulting Rodman. All charges were subsequently dropped. Dennis over the years has been arrested for offences related to alcohol. Come on! Alcohol? The majority of the Australian public would be in trouble for grog related crime!
Dennis Rodman: Bad as he wants to be. (Image from thesmokinggun.com
Damon Stoudamire
Mighty Mouse was once a member of the criminally renowned team of the Portland Trailblazers aka. Jailblazers. The Jailblazers of the 90’s were not only talented, but troublesome, with Damon leading the way. Stoudamire was
Damon joined Harold and Kumar in White Castle. (Image from nbacriminals.com)
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Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by Stanley
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by charles
ZCars
Ponderous
But yes, every now and then, you'll read in the tabloids about an English Premier League star caught speeding in his convertible Ferrari/Porsche/Lamborghini/Mercedes etc.
A bit of a generalisation here, but it points to another one of those pitfalls of being so damn rich at a young age.
Charles.
Comment by Stanley