NBA Players That Get In Trouble With the Law: Do Age and Education Level Matter?

Among the claims often expressed for raising the age floor in the NBA is that prep-to-pros players are more likely to get in off-court trouble, since they lack a college education and, as David Stern puts it, "life experience." One way to test this idea is to study NBA players that have actually gotten in trouble with the law. Were they college educated? Were they young and impressionable? I did a little bit of research, and while I cannot ensure that the following chart reflects a complete list, it is quite extensive and likely covers most of the recent NBA player arrests. The chart reveals the arrested players’ level of education and their age and level of professional experience at the time of arrest. Disclaimer: obviously, an arrest does not mean that someone is guilty of anything; that’s what a trial is for. But, it might a good proxy for “getting in trouble with the law,” particularly given the reputational cost often absorbed by an arrested player, his team, and the NBA.

Arrested NBA Players: Education, Age, and Experience
Michael McCann
Assistant Professor of Law, Mississippi College School of Law
LL.M., Harvard Law School (2005)
J.D., University of Virginia School of Law (2002)
B.A., Georgetown University (1998)

NAME	CHARGE	EDUCATION	AGE WHEN ARRESTED	SEASON IN NBA WHEN ARRESTED
Greg “Cadillac” Anderson	Possession of Cocaine and Intent to Distribute	4 Years of College	33	10th
Gilbert Arenas	Unlawful Possession of Firearm	2 Years of College	21	3rd
Darrell Armstrong	Battery of Female Police Officer	4 Years of College	35	10th
Ron Artest	Assault and Battery	2 Years of College	25	6th
Charles Barkley	Disorderly Conduct	4 Years of College	28	8th
Erick Barkley	Trespass	4 Years of College	23	2nd
Tony Battie	Battery of Police Officer	3 Years of College	23	2nd
Mookie Blaylock	Marijuana Possession	4 Years of College	30	7th
Kobe Bryant	Sexual Assault	0 Years of College	24	7th
Rodney Buford	Marijuana Possession	4 Years of College	22	1st
Jason Caffey	Assault Causing Bodily Harm	4 Years of College	30	8th
Marcus Camby	Marijuana Possession	3 Years of College	23	2nd
Sam Cassell	Assault Causing Bodily Harm	4 Years of College	33	11th
Keon Clark	Marijuana Possession	4 Years of College	27	5th
Derrick Coleman	Driving While Under the Influence	4 Years of College	35	13th
Tony Dumas	Assault on Pregnant Woman	4 Years of College	23	2nd
Richard Dumas	Crack Cocaine Possession	3 Years of College	29	3rd (was retired)
Dale Ellis (1)	Domestic-Violence Assault and Resisting Arrest	4 Years of College	29	7th
Dale Ellis (2)	Domestic-Violence Assault	4 Years of College	41	17th (was retired)
Marcus Fizer	Unlawful Possession of Firearm	3 Years of College	24	3rd
Joe Forte (1)	Marijuana Possession and Unlawful Possession of Firearm	2 Years of College	23	2nd
Joe Forte (2)	Driving While Under the Influence	2 Years of College	23	2nd
Steve Francis	Driving While Under the Influence	3 Years of College	23	3rd
Gary Grant (1)	Assault, Battery, and Disorderly Conduct	4 Years of College	35	12th
Gary Grant (2)	Drunk Driving	4 Years of College	36	13th
Eddie Griffin (1)	Marijuana Possession	1 Year of College	21	3rd
Eddie Griffin (2)	Assault with a Deadly Weapon	1 Year of College	21	3rd
Ed Gray	Marijuana Possession and Driving Under the Influence	4 Years of College	24	2nd
Darvin Ham	Battery of Wife	3 Years of College	28	5th
David Harrison	Assault and Battery	3 Years of College	22	1st
Alan Henderson	Unlawful Possession of Firearm	4 Years of College	32	11th
Dennis Hopson	Domestic Violence	4 Years of College	35	5th (was retired)
Zydrunas Illgauskas	Drunk Driving	NA (European Pro till age 22)	27	5th
Allen Iverson (1)	Marijuana Possession and Unlawful Possession of Firearm	2 Years of College	22	2nd
Allen Iverson (2)	Assault	2 Years of College	27	7th
Stephen Jackson	Assault and Battery	1 Year of College	26	5th
Anthony Johnson	Assault and Battery	4 Years of College	30	8th
Dennis Johnson	Assault and Battery	4 Years of College	43	14th (was retired)
Shawn Kemp	Drug Possession and Unlawful Possession of Firearm	1 Year of College	35	14th (was retired)
Jason Kidd	Domestic Abuse	2 Years of College	27	7th
Voshon Lenard	Reckless Endangerment and Illegal Use of Firearm	4 Years of College	27	6th
Brad Lohaus	Domestic Assault and Felony Theft	4 Years of College	40	11th (was retired)
Sam Mack	Marijuana Possession	4 Years of College	29	6th
Anthony Mason	Battery on Police Officer	4 Years of College	33	10th
Vernon Maxwell (1)	Unlawful Possession of Firearm	4 Years of College	29	7th
Vernon Maxwell (2)	Drug Possession	4 Years of College	30	8th
Vernon Maxwell (3)	Failing to Pay Child Support	4 Years of College	34	12th
Roshown McLeod	Battery of Pregnant Woman	4 Years of College	24	2nd
Terrance Morris	Driving with a Suspended License	4 Years of College	23	1st
Lee Nailon	Marijuana Possession	4 Years of College	25	1st
Tyrone Nesby	Battery	4 Years of College	26	4th
Michael Olowokandi (1)	Cohabitant Abuse, Robbery, and False Imprisonment	3 Years of College	26	4th
Michael Olowokandi (2)	Disorderly Conduct and Trespass	3 Years of College	29	7th
Jermaine O’Neal	Assault and Battery	0 Years of College	26	9th
Chris Porter	Marijuana Possession	4 Years of College	23	1st
Vitaly Potapenko	Disorderly Conduct	2 Years of College	24	4th
Robert Parrish	Marijuana Possession	4 Years of College	38	21st (was retired)
Ruben Patterson (1)	Assault	4 Years of College	25	2nd
Ruben Patterson (2)	Attempted Rape	4 Years of College	26	3rd
Ruben Patterson (3)	Assault of Spouse	4 Years of College	28	5th
Gary Payton	Driving While Under the Influence	4 Years of College	36	15th
Scottie Pippen	Battery of Woman	4 Years of College	29	8th
Olden Polynice (1)	Assault	3 Years of College	32	10th
Olden Polynice (2)	Impersonating a Police Officer and Disorderly Conduct	3 Years of College	36	13th
Olden Polynice (3)	Assault	3 Years of College	37	14th
Zach Randolph	Driving While Under the Influence	1 Year of College	22	3rd
Eldrige Recasner	Assault	4 Years of College	32	6th
Jason Richardson	Domestic Violence	2 Years of College	22	2nd
Isaiah “JR” Rider	Marijuana Possession	4 Years of College	25	4th
Cliff Robinson (1)	Marijuana Possession	3 Years of College	31	9th
Cliff Robinson (2)	Marijuana Possession	3 Years of College	34	12th
Glenn Robinson (1)	Disorderly Intoxication	3 Years of College	27	6th
Glenn Robinson (2)	Battery and Unlawful Possession of Firearm	3 Years of College	29	8th
Dennis Rodman (1)	Battery	4 Years of College	38	14th
Dennis Rodman (2)	Obstruction of Justice	4 Years of College	41	14th (was retired)
Dwayne Schintzius	Driving While Under the Influence	4 Years of College	35	8th (was retired)
Charles Smith	Vehicular Homicide and Driving Under the Influence	4 Years of College	23	2nd
Leon Smith	Criminal Mischief	0 Years of College	19	1st
Michael Smith	Assault and Drunk Driving	4 Years of College	29	8th
Latrell Sprewell	Driving With a Suspended License	4 Years of College	32	11th
Jerry Stackhouse	Assault	2 Years of College	28	8th
DeShawn Stevenson	Statutory Rape	0 Years of College	20	2nd
Rod Strickland (1)	Driving While Under the Influence	3 Years of College	31	10th
Rod Strickland (2)	Unlawful Entry	3 Years of College	33	12th
Damon Stoudamire	Marijuana Possession	4 Years of College	29	8th
Sedale Threatt	Failing to Pay Child Support	4 Years of College	38	14th (was retired)
Kurt Thomas	Assault of Spouse	4 Years of College	29	7th
Robert Traylor	Receiving and Concealing Stolen Property	3 Years of College	23	3rd
Gary Trent	Assault	3 Years of College	22	2nd
John Wallace	Harassment	4 Years of College	23	2nd
Rasheed Wallace	Marijuana Possession	2 Years of College	28	8th
Samaki Walker	Drunk Driving	2 Years of College	27	8th
Chris Webber	Marijuana Possession and Resisting Arrest	2 Years of College	25	6th
Bonzi Wells	Trespass	4 Years of College	25	4th
David Wesley	Reckless Driving	4 Years of College	29	7th
Chris Wilcox	Unlawful Possession of Firearm	2 Years of College	22	3rd
Jason Williams	Reckless Driving	4 Years of College	25	3rd
Jayson Williams	Reckless Manslaughter	4 Years of College	34	9th (was retired)
Sly Williams	Kidnapping, Rape, Sodomy, and Burglary	4 Years of College	44	7th (was retired)
Qyntel Woods (1)	Marijuana Possession	3 Years of College^	22	1st
Qyntel Woods (2)	Animal Cruelty	3 Years of College^	23	3rd
AVERAGE (all)	NA	3.2 Years of College	28.2 Years Old	6.4th Season
MEDIAN (all)	NA	4.0 Years of College	27.0 Years Old	6.0th Season
AVERAGE (without retired)	NA	3.1 Years of College	26.9 Years Old	5.6th Season
MEDIAN (without retired)	NA	4.0 Years of College	26.2 Years Old	5.3rd Season

84 Arrested NBA Players * 48 w/4 college years * 15 w/3 college years * 12 w/2 college years * 4 w/1 college year * 4 w/0 college years * 1 international player

All NBA Players: 41.1% went to college for 4 years Arrested NBA Players: 57.1% went to college for 4 years Meaning: NBA Players with 4 years of college represent a proportionally higher % of arrested NBA players than all NBA players.

All NBA Players: 20.9% went to college for 3 years Arrested NBA Players: 17.9% went to college for 3 years Meaning: NBA Players with 3 years of college represent a proportionally lower % of arrested NBA players than all NBA players.

All NBA Players: 11.1% went to college for 2 years Arrested NBA Players: 14.3% went to college for 2 years Meaning: NBA Players with 2 years of college represent a proportionally higher % of arrested NBA players than all NBA players.

All NBA Players: 6.5% went to college for 1 year Arrested NBA Players: 4.8% went to college for 1 year Meaning: NBA Players with 1 year of college represent a proportionally lower % of arrested NBA players than all NBA players.

All NBA Players: 8.3% did not go to college (American) Arrested NBA Players: 4.8% did not go to college (American) Meaning: NBA Players who didn’t go to college and are American represent a proportionally lower % of arrested NBA players than all NBA players.

All NBA Players: 12.2% are international Arrested NBA Players: 1.2% are international Meaning: International NBA players represent a proportionally lower % of arrested NBA players than all NBA players.

Update 8/9/05: Dwight Jaynes of the Portland Tribune published an excellent column today concerning this study. (Jaynes, "Stern Has it Exactly Backward on College," Portland Tribune, August 9, 2005).

Update 7/28/05: I added an education-level comparison of arrested NBA players to all current NBA players. There are some rather striking results that appear to amplify the study's findings. Most notably, although 41.1 percent of all NBA players went to college for 4 years, 57.1 percent of arrested NBA players went to college for 4 years--meaning that players with four years of college represent a proportionally higher percentage of arrested NBA players than all NBA players. In contrast, although 14.8 percent of NBA players either did not go to college or went for one year, only 9.6 percent of arrested NBA players share the same educational background--meaning that players with one or less years of college represent a proportionally lower percentage of arrested NBA players than all NBA players. Also, a continued thanks to the those who have analyzed this study by e-mail or on their blogs (including Professor Mark Godsey of the University of Cincinnati College of Law and Criminal Professor Blog).

Update 7/25/05: I added statistics for the averages and medians of only those players who were arrested while still playing in the NBA (denoted as "without retired").

^ Woods played two years of junior college plus one year of community college.

The averages and medians only count a player once, with the number averaged (e.g., even though he had three arrests, Vernon Maxwell’s education and age are only counted once as an average—4 years of college, 31 years old, and 9th NBA season).

Also, several of the players were arrested after their careers had ended, and that is noted by “was retired.” I used the last year in which they played as the numerical base. One could make a good argument that they should not be included, although I felt that their arrests still reflected poorly on them, their NBA teams, and the NBA itself (e.g., the Jayson Williams murder trial), and thus deserved to be included.

What does this data tell us?

First, college education does not appear to diminish the probability of a player getting in trouble with the law. In fact, some of the most notorious NBA players are those with college degrees, while many others have three years of a college education. That is not to say that a college education is a “bad thing,” but it does undermine the popular and paternalistic argument that “these kids need more schooling” because otherwise they would somehow be less-prepared for life as an NBA player. Just the opposite, actually, the data suggests that premiere high school seniors might be better off skipping college altogether, perhaps in order to avoid the disturbing external influences that afflict many college basketball programs, or perhaps because the average Division I college basketball player spends 40-50 hours a week playing games, practicing, attending team meetings, working out, and traveling – an arrangement that does not leave much time for “education” or “the college experience,” and that is a problem only worsened by most players having minimal financial resources (which, consequently, can instill a greater temptation on their part to be influenced by those who hang around the team and who always have plenty of money in hand).

On the other hand, the lack correlative power of education might only reflect intervening causes (such as personal and professional relationships) that can obscure the lessons one learned in school (or at home or with friends etc.). In that respect, I found some of the media coverage of the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case especially baffling. Here was a player who was considered the NBA's poster child for most of his first seven seasons, during which time he was routinely praised for his charity work with the Los Angeles Girls and Boys' Club, and then, at age 24, we are supposed to believe that he suddenly became a rapist because he didn't go to college seven years earlier?

Second, players appear more likely to get in trouble with the law towards the middle and end of their careers than at the start. This could be interpreted in a number of ways. For instance, it might suggest that the “pressures of being an NBA player” are more manageable at the start of one’s career, perhaps because the player is less autonomous and more reliant on the team. This interpretation is bolstered by the financial stake of NBA teams in facilitating the transition of their players from life as an amateur to life as a pro. Second, and related to the preceding interpretation, new NBA players are often surrounded by veterans in their late 20s and 30s who can monitor them and serve as de facto “big brothers.” The presence of these veteran players is obviously something distinct from the college experience, where the “veterans” are often just 20 or 21-years old, and are thus not likely to be as well-equipped in steering their 18 and 19-year teammates away from nefarious influences. Alternatively, the data may suggest that as the player accumulates wealth and notoriety, he is more likely to succumb to these “pressures.”

No matter the interpretation, it doesn’t appear that the recent decision by the NBA and NBPA to raise the age of NBA draft eligibility from 18 to 19 (or one year out of high school) will improve the overall law-abidingness of NBA players. If anything, actually, this data suggests that it might have the opposite effect.

I look forward to further analyzing this data with all of you. Your insight and interpretation would be much appreciated, and please use the comments section below. Or, if you have any additions/corrections to the list, please e-mail me (along with some type of substantiation for your claim) at mmccann@law.harvard.edu – I would appreciate it.

Reactions to this Study

I am grateful to all who have e-mailed me, as well as to those who have commented below or who have written about this study on their websites and blogs. Along those lines, thanks to Henry Abbot of True Hoop for his discussion. I especially liked his title, "The List David Stern Never Wants You to See." Thanks also to following for their discussion of the study: Jeffrey Lewis of The Southern California Law Blog, Jeffrey Wojciechowski of Beaneball, Ken Lammers of Criminal Law Blog, Mike of Crime and Federalism, Scott Townsend of H-Town Sports, Kevin of Hoop Log, and Cisco of Filsteu.

Also, Professor Todd Zywicki of George Mason University School of Law and The Volokh Conspiracy has a must-read take on this study, as he predicts that "raising the draft age by one year will likely just increase the corruption in high school and college basketball." Definitely check out his post, as it reflects upon this data in a completely different way: the unintended consequences on amateur basketball. The Sports Prof ("Rap Sheets and the Rap Generation") and Cal Lanier of Football Fans for Truth ("Fools Rule") also check in with excellent responses.

Additional Resources

For further discussion of this study's relevance to the NBA's efforts to raise the age floor, see my 5/23/05 post "More on NBA Player Arrests and Age/Education." For a broader discussion of age and the NBA Draft, see my law review article "Illegal Defense: The Irrational Economics of Banning High School Players from the NBA Draft," 3 Virginia Sports and Entertainment Law Journal113 (2004)" and my 6/28/05 post "The Red Herring of Age in the NBA Draft."

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