A pox does befall dem
aks
Doug Christie
Tracy Murray
Vince Carter
Alvin Robertson etc etc etc
Now mih boy Keon an all get ketch....a 6 ft 9 blackman ridin troo town on ah scooter...I would real laugh if I see dat
http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/217097Keon Clark: 'The boy is just self-destructing in public, and it's painful'
May 24, 2007 04:30 AM
Dave Feschuk
When last Keon Clark was quoted in these pages, in the fall of 2005, the pogo stick of a former Raptors forward was 30 years old and still sought after by NBA general managers. As of yesterday afternoon, he was wanted by Illinois police.
A warrant for his arrest on felony charges of drunk driving with a suspended licence was issued on Sunday, and if Clark's latest run-in with the law was an anomaly, it might not merit mention. But earlier this month Clark pleaded guilty to cocaine- and gun-possession felonies for which he'll be sentenced in July in his hometown of Danville, Ill. And his frequency of transgressions is such that one of the local newspapers has occasionally taken to headlining stories about his missteps with the tag: "Keon Watch."
"The boy is just self-destructing in public, and it's painful," said Frank Young, a state's attorney in Danville. "You hate to see a young man destroy himself after he's worked so hard and accomplished so much ... You're just going, `Wake up.'"
It's at this point in the story that you're within your rights to withhold your sympathy for yet another ex-professional athlete with too much time on his hands and too much money in his bank account. But Clark, who made an estimated $15 million (U.S.) in NBA salary from 1998 until 2004, is followed with interest in part because he wasn't the typical pro.
Occasionally outstanding on the floor and charmingly outspoken off it, he earned the respect of Toronto teammates worth respecting. A while back Alvin Williams, the Raptors' one-time hallmark of solidity, asked a reporter for Clark's phone number, expressing dismay for Clark's lot while reiterating his admiration for a troubled man.
Clark, though, hasn't been answering his phone lately. And the details of his existence culled from police notebooks paint a bleak picture. When Clark was arrested in Champaign, Ill., early Sunday morning with an alleged blood-alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit, he allegedly carried a bottle of gin in his jacket pocket.
Perhaps his woes have left deep wounds, the custody battle with the mother of his son, Keon, that denied him visitation rights, the father currently serving a 65-year jail sentence for murder. A couple of years back Clark claimed his two best friends were his golfing buddies, a retired doctor in his 70s and a 50-something man on disability whose companionship he seemed to value chiefly because they weren't interested in his material wealth. A couple of years back, he seemed bent on staying straight.
"Jail ain't built for 6-9 guys," he said, at the time speaking from rare experience. "I'll put it like this: When I was lying on the bed I had my feet out of the bars."
He's not Danville's only famous son – Gene Hackman and Dick Van Dyke both hail from the town of 36,000 – but he is its most visible. Lately, since his black 2003 Mercedes Benz was seized (and sold on eBay) by the authorities, the 6-foot-9 beanpole has taken to riding a motor scooter around town, which makes him hard to miss.
When he's sentenced in July, when he'll be facing a maximum five-year jail sentence, he might be hoping for a hometown discount. The judge who'll decide on the matter once cheered for Clark when he led the Danville High Vikings to the state championship tournament. And Young, the state's attorney who negotiated Clark's plea bargain, said he owns a Raptors cap autographed by Clark.
"I was a big fan," Young said.
The state's attorney sighed over the line and cleared his throat.
"We've all watched him grow up. We've all seen him succeed. And then it's just like one of your friends who won't listen. You're going, `Keon, wake up!'" said Young. "When he's not drinking and he's not on anything he is a very nice young man. ... But like so many people, they think they're either invincible and it doesn't affect them or everybody else is wrong. Your heart goes out for him. But you also make the bed you lie in."
