It never ceases to amaze how professional athletes, many of whom signed multiple eight figure deals within a ten year span, continuously wind up with debt problems. I suppose it shouldn't, considering the rampant debt that most Americans face, and the young age at which most athletes are burdened with bazillions of dollars. There's something depressingly human about just how easily those with everything can turn their financial lives into disasters. Of course, there are disasters, and then there are disasters.
Former Celtics star/Timberwolves-Heat-Grizzlies bench player Antoine Walker being escorted out of a Lake Tahoe casino in handcuffs a day after an arrest warrant was issued for him for writing bad checks ... in casinos?
Yeah, that's pretty bad. Or sad. Probably both.
An arrest warrant was issued on Tuesday for Walker after he allegedly wrote 10 bad checks totaling $1 million dollars to Caesar's Palace, Planet Hollywood, and Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas. As of Wednesday, he had only repaid $187,500 bringing his total before legal fees to $850,000. The Las Vegas Sun additionally reports that Walker took out 10 markers using checks with insufficient funds between July 27th and January 19th of last year.
Today, at Harrah's Casino in South Lake Tahoe, authorities led Walker out in handcuffs. He is in Douglas County Jail with bail set at $87,000. While no official connection has been made, it's likely that Walker was in Tahoe for the Celebrity Golf tournament, featuring several players past and present that have been known to enjoy wagers of their own.
Even being among such company, you have to marvel at Walker, knowing he has an arrest warrant out for writing bad checks in casinos and still ... going to a casino. Really? Really?
Walker's case is just another long line of professional athletes that reflect a widespread issue in American life, even if it is easing for the average American. For professional athletes, the risk may be higher, though, considering the lifestyle and inexperience with financial management at a time when their bank accounts suddenly overflow. Ultimately, it'd seem there's a reason the NBA holds yearly financial management meetings with teams.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
It is a good reason not to consider gambling as victimless, and to consider it a crime. At minimum, the casinos should be required to get more proof of identity and of sufficient funds for allowing gambling without cash. I hope someone else wrote the bad checks, using his name, but if he`s been gambling, and losing big, I hope tighter laws and Gamblers Anonymous can help, someone else, at least, diminish the chance of them doing the same. A shame.
Yes, he's another athlete that made problems for himself, but what does him being black have to do with it? I didn't see anyone comment about Bernie Kosar being another "spoiled white athlete" when he filed bankruptcy last week, or Lenny Dykstra, so why don't we just leave race out of this?
Amazing how the real problem of most of these head cases is never brought up - parenting and sometimes you have to think about the public school systems . Most have economics and financial classes but they obviously either are underteaching or arent getting through. And the other reason i listed was parenting - the MAIN quality good parenting can instill is discipline. If you notice almost everyone of these players in trouble were not very disciplined (although there are some out there in finacial trouble that were stand up guys off the field, thats were the schools and lack of knowledge probably would come in). I understand that everyone does have to make THEIR choice to do things and screw things up but good ,smart, loving parenting can go a long way in helping shape that person so they can make better choices....
Obviously, if `Toin` wrote the bad checks, he only has himself to blame for that, and obviously, anyone who has tried investing in the stock market knows THAT can be a big gamble, too. And obviously, schools can`t teach good luck, and can only try to teach good decision making. But 50% if Americans marry 5 times, cheat on all 5 marriages, divorce all 5 times. Most of those are white. It is not race which causes bad decision making, as one person implied, or which disrupts families. America in general, including white America, needs to do much better. Teaching accounting concurrent with arithmetic would help on financial issues, which are the alleged main reason for divorces, though the adultry is even higher than the divorce rate. Deregulation of white collar crime, a favorite notion of some folks, always increases white collar crime. And such con schemes, thefts, frauds, embezzlements, insider trading, pyramid schemes, etc., are NOT victimless crimes. Maybe we`ll FINALLY get some good, understanding leadership, which will actually try to tighten up regulation a little here and their while respecting individual responsibility and freedom, and try to actually solve some of our nation`s problems. But I doubt it.
People just make bad decisions. One bad decision sometimes lead to another then before you know it you are waist deep in it. That goes for millionaires, middle class, and lower class. We are all humans. Don't get me wrong parenting is important but that can't always be the reason people screw up as adults.
Once again folks, these are generally speaking dumb athletes, not MENSA members......
Antoine is known for taking care of everyone. He has several apartments in Chicago just for his relatives and they live their free. He also gives away his stipend that the NBA gets to ball boys.
If anything Antoine is guilty of giving away too much of his money and being too generous which is why he doesn't have any money to pay these debts.
It all sounds fishy to me anyway. Someone just happened to regconize him at a Casino? Give me a break
Antoine, Antoine. Man. I just don't know what to say. Totally inexcusable. Going to jail as a recent, recent now, former NBA player. A league that even the poorest players, by NBA standards, make good money and you were a middle of the road player for most of your career. And now you are broke? Writing bad checks? At a casino of all places? So sad, so very, very sad.