Antoine Walker Apologizes for Involvement in Slum Property

If I told you that Antoine Walker was being pursued by officials, you'd assume I was talking about the gambling debt that had gotten way out of control. And that's there, too. But it turns out the former Celtic has some new legal trouble looming over his shoulder.

Walker owns several properties in his hometown of Chicago under his companies Walker Ventures LLC and AW Realty LLC. And there are a dozen lawsuits against those companies regarding the slum-like conditions, to go along with hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines from the city, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Often in relation to Walker, there is a temptation to make light of Walker given his "shimmy" and his quick trigger. When you read the list of complaints and charges, though, it's clear that this is no laughing matter.

The complaints range from bricks falling off a facade, to a broken sewer pipe filling a basement, both of which went neglected for long periods of time, to a molding problem that created health concerns for a 7-year-old boy.

In short, Walker has been revealed as a slumlord even if he was unaware of the conditions at the properties. Walker called the Tribune and apologized for his involvement in the debacle. He claims to have left operations to a longtime friend, who also happens to be out on bond from felony counts of a number of charges including fraud. Walker accepted responsibility for the conditions, blaming his own poor decisions, while distancing himself from being directly involved.

It's unclear what can be done about the conditions at the properties, as Walker's fortune is clearly tapped. He mentioned that he hoped to get back on his feet financially by rejoining an NBA team, which at this point seems unlikely to the point of being impossible. If nothing else, the league should use Walker of an example of how not to handle your finances.