Saturday, September 24, 2005

The Tony Allen Story: Gunshots, Punches, and Mysterious Knee Injuries

Earlier this month, we discussed an investigation by the Chicago Police Department into a shooting that appears to involve Tony Allen, a second-year player on the Boston Celtics. Accompanied by teammate Will Bynum and an entourage of about 15 people, Allen is said to have gotten into a heated verbal confrontation with Marktwain Johnson, a patron in a Chicago restaurant. The argument arose on Sunday, August 28, at 3 AM. The remainder of the story is uncertain, but at some point, Allen allegedly directed someone in his entourage to "F--- him up," and then shots were fired, with one hitting Johnson in the left arm and another in his torso. A melee then broke out, during which Allen is also alleged to have punched Nigel Odum, a member of Johnsons' entourage, leaving him with a broken eyesocket. Johnson has since filed a civil suit against Allen for battery and the restaurant for negligent security. Apparently, Allen and Johnson have a history of animosity, as one report claims they had sparred months ago at another restaurant, though it only involved jabbing and not shooting.

Last week, the story took a peculiar turn, when the Celtics unexpectedly announced that Allen would undergo surgery on his right knee to repair a tear, and that he would be out of action until at least the start of the 2005-06 NBA season. Allen allegedly told the Celtics that he couldn't remember when the pain started. He had been healthy enough to play in the July summer league, where he excelled.

The Celtics appear to believe that Allen's knee injury is unrelated to basketball activities. This past Wednesday, on a radio interview with 1510 The Zone Sporting News Radio Boston, Celtics' general manager Danny Ainge apparently said, "Tony made a mistake, and he knows it. He had to have surgery to pay for that mistake.
" Thus, it appears plausible that Allen's knee injury may have been related to the melee in the Chicago restaurant.

The possibility that Allen may have directed someone else to shoot Johnson should be a worry to Celtics fans. In criminal law, commanding another person to use lethal force can be considered armed assault with intent to murder, which, if convicted, carries a long-term prison sentence (often in the range of 10 to 15 years). Less severe possible charges include aggravated assault, which refers to an attempt to cause bodily injury with indifference to human life, and felony battery with serious bodily injury. Both are still felonies, however, and thus command at least one and a half years of prison time upon conviction. On the other hand, Allen might be able to argue that he was provoked or acting in self-defense, or that his command "F--- him up," was unreasonably misinterpreted by the shooter.

We'll keep you posted on any developments. However, it should be noted that Tony Allen has not yet been charged with any crimes, and that the preceding paragraph is merely hypothetical analysis should he eventually be charged.

**See Update**: Chicago Police Issues Investigative Report to Question Tony Allen (10/4/2005)

Related Analysis:

1)
My recent study on arrest propensity among NBA players and age/education. I found a peculiar and counter-intuitive trend: NBA players with four years of college represent a disproportionately high percentage of arrested NBA players, while those with no college or one year of college represent a disproportionately low percentage. Perhaps then it is not surprising that Tony Allen is a college graduate (Oklahoma State '2004).

2) In his column from last month in the Portland Tribune, Dwight Jaynes discusses my study and offers several explanations.

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