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MS
Posts: 27065
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Joined: 7/28/2004
Member: #724
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If some of players I mentioned where actually great players wouldn't they have produced tangible results in this league?
Also please see below, since I paint with such a broad brush.......
One of the stories behind the Kemp saga is that he was unhappy about his contract because of all the child support he had to pay. It is well documented that he has multiple children out of wedlock with multiple mothers. He was the poster child of that Sports Illustrated story a few years back, "Where's Daddy?" He has become the butt of Father's Day jokes nationwide.
And I think that is why it is easy for people to get on Kemp, because he is a victim of his own irresponsibility. Children out of wedlock have become almost an afterthought in the NBA, a rite of passage. There are probably more illegitimate children of NBA players than there are NBA players. -Hell, Kemp nearly has a team of children to himself.
- Frank Hughes covers the NBA for the Tacoma (Wash.) News-Tribune. He is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
I recently looked up the arrest records of NBA players and found 85 different players with arrests for 33 different crimes! One author estimates as high as 40% of NBA players have arrest records, many of them for felony crimes. Those inside the loop estimate the "average" (however that’s determined) NBA player has multiple illegitimate children by multiple women. An NBA top sports agent says there are probably more illegitimate kids of NBA players than there are NBA players. And an ESPN commentator / former NBA player said for every player with no illegitimate children, there is another with 2 or 3.
Kobe Bryant's arrest is part of a trend and not just an exception in the NBA. Statistics, as shown by legalball.com show that NBA players who enter the league with a college degree are incredibly less likely to be arrested than those who leave college early or skip college all together.
What do Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Rasheed Wallace, Jason Kidd, Kwame Brown, Stephon Marbury, Eddie Griffen, Jermaine O'neal, DeShawn Stevenson, Jason Richardson, Joe Smith, Jerry Stackhouse, Chris Webber, Ron Mercer and Chancy Billups all have in common?
They are all NBA stars. Some have been all-stars. One won an MVP. Another has won three championships. However, none spent more than two years in college. And all have arrest records. Ranging from Rape to Drug Possession to Domestic Battery, all of the above have had problems with the law.
In comparison, what do NBA stars Tim Duncan, Keith Van Horn, Jamal Mcgloire, Kenyon Martin, Andre Miller, Wally Szczerbiak, Steve Nash, Corlis Williamson, Brent Barry, Michael Finley, Alonzo Morning, Doug Christie and Allan Houston have in common?
But this week, Sports Illustrated reports that among professional athletes out-of-wedlock births are epidemic. And of athletes in the major sports leagues, those in the NBA appear to have the greatest number of cases. According to SI, one of the NBA's top agents says he spends more time dealing with paternity claims than he does negotiating contracts. The agent tells the magazine that there might be more kids out of wedlock than there are players in the NBA. According to Sports Illustrated, Larry Johnson of the Knicks is supporting five children by four women, including two he has with his wife, and Shawn Kemp of the Cavaliers, who is not married, has fathered seven children. Other NBA players who have been the subject of paternity-related lawsuits include Patrick Ewing, Juwan Howard, Scottie Pippen, Jason Kidd, Stephon Marbury, Hakeem Olajuwon and Gary Payton, as well as Larry Bird, who is now the coach of the Pacers, and current NBC game analyst Isiah Thomas.
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7/27/2007 1:00 PM