This keeps getting more interesting.
Even more concerns about Jahlil Okafor and Sixers emerge:
Add attempting to use a fake ID to the list of recent wrongdoings committed by Jahlil Okafor (right). (USA Today Images)
It’s been a rough week for Jahlil Okafor and the Sixers. With each report concerning the conduct of the Sixers’ rookie and his teammates, questions abound about the way the organization has handled a roster full of young players.
In late October, Okafor allegedly presented a fake I.D. at Misconduct Tavern in Center City, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation. Okafor, 19, was refused service, the sources said. One of the sources said he was surprised because Okafor is “a big guy” and “famous” and “pretty easy to recognize.”
Over the weekend, the Philadelphia Inquirer also reported that Okafor was stopped for speeding on the Ben Franklin Bridge while going in excess of 100 miles per hour. While the team was in Memphis on Sunday, Brett Brown called the reports “concerning.”
On Thanksgiving, TMZ posted a video that showed Okafor getting in a physical altercation outside a Boston nightclub. The incident occurred more than a month and a half after the most-alarming situation to date. According to a witness and two separate reports filed by the Philadelphia Police Department and U.S. Park Rangers and obtained by CSNPhilly.com, Okafor had a gun pointed at him during an argument outside an Old City nightclub on Oct. 4 after 2 a.m.
Okafor and an acquaintance got into a disagreement with two men parked in a car near the corner of 2nd and Walnut Streets when Okafor tried to punch the driver through the open driver’s side window, according to a witness. The passenger then exited the car and pointed a gun at Okafor and an acquaintance before U.S. Park Rangers arrived on the scene and chased the gunman off, per the witness and both reports. The gunman was not apprehended, and the driver fled in a black Camaro with red stripes.
It’s unclear if the driver also had a weapon. The investigation is ongoing, and PPD has suspects in the case. A law enforcement source told CSNPhilly.com that the suspected driver has a permit to carry a concealed weapon. If he had a registered gun and pulled it during the argument, the law enforcement source said, he could make a case for self-defense if it can be proven that Okafor tried to punch the driver through the car window as the witness claims. The law enforcement source said that the driver has no weapons registered in his name, but it’s possible that he recently purchased one and it has yet to appear in the database. That can sometimes take a month or more, the law enforcement source said. He also added that it’s unlikely that the unidentified passenger who fled on foot has a concealed carry permit since he tossed his weapon, according to witnesses. A gun magazine was recovered nearby and submitted for fingerprint analysis.
According to sources, Okafor was accompanied that night by several Sixers. The Sixers finished training camp at Stockton University in Galloway, NJ, on Saturday, Oct. 3. According to sources, several players, including Okafor and JaKarr Sampson, went out that evening (and into the morning of Oct. 4) to celebrate. A Mercedes-Benz Sprinter bus was hired to ferry the players around, the sources said.
Okafor was also accompanied by at least one teammate during the altercation in Boston last week, according to the Inquirer. The paper reported that 20-year-old Christian Wood was with Okafor at the time.
On Monday, the Philadelphia Daily News reported that several Sixers were involved in a New Jersey traffic stop two years ago and “a small amount of pot was found in the car” but no charges were filed. The report added that “the majority of those players are no longer with the team.”
Taken in total, there are concerns about what kind of culture the Sixers are fostering and about the attendant supervision of their players. It’s certainly not unusual for professional athletes to go out together, but the Sixers have the youngest roster in the NBA. One league executive said “a couple of [veterans]” would help “off the court.” He also called the Sixers “a joke to the entire league.”
Another front office member for another team questioned “why the Sixers won’t surround those guys with security.”
“Damn near every team does that,” the executive said, “especially with their top guys. I guess the Sixers know more than everyone else again.”
It is believed the Sixers do have security personnel available, but the players must request the service. A Sixers spokesman could not be reached for comment on that point.
The overarching issue is about what kind of environment is being fostered, one of the executives said. As he noted, there have been previous questions about how the team has handled other, less serious matters involving its young stars and their development.
In Monday’s aforementioned Daily News story, Nerlens Noel was reportedly “heavily fined” for “repeated tardiness and other violations” while recovering from a knee injury during his rookie season. Joel Embiid, who has yet to play for the Sixers, was reportedly sent home from a road trip last year for “insubordination.” A recent story by the Cauldron also questioned Embiid’s dietary habits and claimed he delayed a second surgery on his foot because he was “determined to go to [Las] Vegas to party for the balance of the 10 days of summer league.” The story cited sources that said owner Joshua Harris had instructed Sam Hinkie and Brett Brown to keep Embiid away from Las Vegas, to no avail.
“It’s a bad look for [the Sixers],” one league executive said. “This is the big issue with their plan. You get a bunch of talented kids — OK, but they’re still kids. Where are the adults?”
11/25/2015 5:19 PM