Alcoholism has been a problem for many players over the decades, often ending promising careers. A few years ago, an ex-athlete confessed that he was systematically drunk on the field… and this sad story resulted in several stays in prison.
If the name of Keon Clark means nothing to you, it is not necessarily very surprising. This former interior did not stay very long in the NBA, from 1998 to 2003 to be exact. Time for him to wear the colors of four different franchises (Nuggets, Raptors, Kings, Jazz) and to average 8 points, 6 rebounds and 1.6 against. Clearly, not a shoe size but a solid duty player who could have had his place in the league … if the person concerned had not had some very annoying vices.
Indeed, like many of his peers, the pivot fought with his demons for a long time, without really being able to overcome them. As a result, he notably developed a strong fondness for drinking. It was in 2007 that he confessed publicly, when he had just been arrested for possession of an illegal weapon as well as possession of drugs in Illinois. While the judge is ready to give him a chance to defend himself, this is what he will declare at the hearing:
I’ve been an alcoholic since high school. Unfortunately, I never played a match without being drunk… It never stopped.
After such a confession, it was impossible to hope to be released by the system and Clark was therefore sentenced to two and a half years in prison. And the worst part is that the troubles didn’t stop there for him…
Keon Clark, daily alcoholic in the NBA
Indeed, after a few years when we have not heard from him, the former player has fallen back into his ways. Arrested respectively for carrying an illegal weapon in 2012 and drunk driving in 2013, he will this time receive an eight-year sentence behind bars. He will however be released after only four years, having behaved like a model prisoner during his incarceration. The opportunity also for him to take stock of his life, as he explained to the News-Gazette in 2017:
I spent a lot of time ignoring my responsibilities. I used alcohol as comfort, but it was artificial comfort.
A particularly encouraging statement from the person concerned, who was therefore able to identify the root of his problems. Subsequently, he was followed by specialists and no longer touches the drink, no longer knowing the desire.
Five years after his release from prison, Clark is now a man at peace with himself. For him, prison was a blessing in disguise:
I don’t wish jail on anyone. But I see my free time, my sabbatical, as an education for me. It was time well spent. When I went to jail, alcohol was out of control in my mind. I was in control of my body and mind.
Who knows what the career and especially the life of Keon Clark could have looked like if he had not been plagued by alcoholism from his high school years. The most important thing, however, is that he is now free of it, after many years of hardship.
