Gun violence is the scourge of modern American society, and sports is by no means excluded from its life-altering consequences. For reasons only known by those who possess them, many sports figures feel the need to carry firearms – sometimes into their locker rooms – and it often ends badly, sometimes even tragically, for them when they do.
To compile a list of sports figures who’ve had gun trouble, 24/7 Tempo consulted sources including Sports Illustrated, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, ABC News, and CBS News. We tried to diversify the list to include figures from as many major sports and leagues as possible, covering incidents both decades old and from this year.
One of the big reasons athletes carry weapons is for their own protection, although that can get complicated when their gun permits are honored in one state and not another, since most professional athletes travel constantly for games. (See the law for carrying firearms in public in every state.)
Sports figures who run afoul with the law because of weapons possession violations are sometimes also in trouble at the same time for possessing narcotics or intending to distribute them.
NFL players Aaron Hernandez and Anthony Wayne Smith and NBA guard Jarvis Crittenton all chose a criminal path and all were jailed for their involvement with murder – and Hernandez died behind bars, an apparent suicide. (In sports and otherwise, these are some celebrities who are currently in or have been to prison.)
The promising careers of NFL player Mark Walton, basketball players Delonte West and Keon Clark, and baseball player Darryl Strawberry were all scuttled in some way by weapons possession arrests.
Jose Canseco and Plaxico Burress were injured mishandling firearms. Baseball slugger Canseco accidentally shot off his middle finger while cleaning his weapon. Burress, coming off a Super Bowl victory, accidentally shot himself in the leg at a New York City nightclub. On a recent sports radio show in New York, Burress used his unfortunate incident as a cautionary tale relayed to NBA star Ja Morant, who was suspended in March for displaying a firearm at a Denver nightspot.
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