Tyrone Nesby: Assault, Battery and Deadbeat Dad

Over a quarter of a million dollars - that's a pretty big number.  That's not the number associated with Nesby's last basketball salary either, it's the number he sees when he gets court notices on all the back child support he owes, currently totaling $250,964 dollars.  I only wish I was kidding, but I'm not. You can get the scoop, updated monthly, at this Illinois web site: http://www.ilchildsupport.com/deadbeats/tyrone_nesby.html.  So how does someone who once had an NBA contract worth millions become a dead beat dad? Probably the same way he got in trouble with the law for assault, battery and drug use.

At first he blamed family problems for his issues.  When he was signed with the Los Angeles Clippers out of the University of Los Vegas, he was an undrafted rookie.  He started off his career in the background, playing small forward as a second stringer.  Each time he got onto the court he started to show more and more and more of skill, and by the end of his rookie year he was starting as small forward and taking his fabulous jump shots on the road.  He then got married, had a kid and suffered the death of his father, all in a few short months. After his father died, his mother moved in, straining his marriage and causing him stress on and off the court.  He started to show his temper more, and his game started to slip, getting him bumped back to the bench while new rookie Lamar Odom played his starting small forward spot for the Clippers.

After his stint with the Clippers, Nesby went to the Washington Wizards, where his temper caused an immediate friction with coach Leonard Hamilton. Those arguments lasted his entire stay with the Wizards, costing him court time and possibly contributing to the shut out from the NBA after his legal troubles started coming to light.  Once you get blackballed in the NBa, you're lucky to get the chance to play in Europe, and Nesby did sign overseas. First he went to Pallacanestro Varese, then Zeleznik, then Lithuania.  He is currently in "retired" status.  You'd think the youngest of eight brothers and five sisters would know how to get along with a group or a team, but it seems he lost that skill along the way and it cost him his career.

Somehow, in the middle of being arrested for assault and battery and marijuana use, now standard offenses in the NBA, Nesby found time for recreational activities.  He started a web site called NesbyWorld.  The best part about entering Nesby's world? The terrible, horrible, no good, very bad rap music. That's right, I said rap music.  Trust me when I say his rap music is a far worse crime than his actual crimes (all of which he was acquitted for).  Not only does he rip off known rap and R&B veterans like R Kelly (fellow criminal) for the music, the lyrics are criminally sophomoric and moronic as well.

Nesby has even opened a foundation in Las Vegas now that his career is over, called - what else - The Nesby Foundation.  The Foundation comes complete with its own ABA basketball team, the Henderson All Stars, owned by Nesby, and seems to offer activities and scholarships for youth in Las Vegas.  I'd think that was more admirable if he was paying the same attention to his own kid, but judging by that whopping back child support bill, he isn't.  Hopefully the kids he coaches will lern from his mistakes, but it's not likely. The NBA still reigns supreme as a thug life breeding ground.
Position:  F-G
Born: 01/31/76
Height: 6-6 /  1,98
Weight: 245  lbs. / 111,1  kg.
College: Nevada-Las Vegas '98