“I refused to stop hanging out with drug dealers, I was transferred directly”

Because NBA players often come from inner-city neighborhoods, some retain ties to well-known law enforcement traffickers. If the Clippers are exemplary today, like the discreet Kawhi Leonard, they have already welcomed a controversial character linked to illegal activities.

Unlike certain sports such as “soccer” for example, basketball is a particularly accessible discipline across the Atlantic. All neighborhoods have one or more fields, all colleges and high schools have a team, the gymnasium is permanently accessible during the day… In concrete terms, it is no coincidence that a large proportion of NBA players come from disadvantaged neighborhoods, c t is often the only escape young people have access to.

But if it’s in the street that you learn the most, since you have to be particularly good on both sides of the field to be able to chain the matches, it’s also there that you can meet people with a negative influence. … Unfortunately, not all stars are lucky enough to LeBron Jameswho grew up with Maverick Carter and Rich Paul, two ambitious men with an entrepreneurial spirit.

When Ron Harper was traded for his friendship with drug dealers

For example, at the end of the 80′s, a future teammate of Michael Jordan found himself in a delicate situation with his leaders, the fault of his relationship with friends known to the police services… Indeed, Ron Harper often hung out with drug dealers in Cleveland, the city in which he grew up, which did not please not at all in the direction of the Cavaliers. So after several warnings, they made a drastic decision about him. The website Basketball Network recount :

One evening, Cavaliers GM Wayne Embry received a call from Horace Balmer, the NBA’s director of security. He explained that he saw Ron Harper late at night, alongside several known drug dealers in Cleveland. Embry therefore asked his player to cut ties with his childhood friends, something he refused, since he was “old enough to make his own decisions” and did not want to be bored alone. his home.

As Embry explained in one of his books, he recommended that the franchise owner trade Ron Harper immediately: “There was no evidence that Harper was on drugs or involved in any of these activities, but we were worried that the youngsters of the team would follow this path. When I met the owner to talk about it, he shouted at me that we had to exchange this ‘son of a bitch’ as ​​soon as possible.’ So we sent him to the Clippers. »

Ron Harper started his career with the Cavaliers, just a few miles from his hometown, and he couldn’t find the strength to end his relationship with his childhood friends, even those involved in illegal trafficking. Necessarily concerned about the image of the franchise, the leaders left him two choices, cut ties or pack his bags, and the leader did not hesitate.

Fortunately, this departure was beneficial for the leader, since he won 5 titles following his exchange from the Cavaliers to the Clippers, including 3 with the Bulls of Michael Jordan. Ron Harper decided to remain loyal to his childhood friends, like many others.