Swapping free throws for freebies, the context of a rising NBA player’s sudden release was illuminated by Virginia court documents.
On Monday, 21-year-old guard Ryan Rollins, formerly of the Golden State Warriors, was released by the Washington Wizards on waivers. The unexplained move had remained a relative mystery over the week until The Athletic reported on the player’s alleged extracurricular activities at a Target store over the span of two months.
According to Alexandria General District Court documents reviewed by the outlet, between Sept. 9 and Nov. 9, Rollins was alleged to have shoplifted seven times from the same store.
Now charged with seven counts of petit larceny, the filings indicated that Rollins, whose salary of $1.7 million was fully guaranteed for the 2023-24 season, as was $600,000 of his next season’s salary, had allegedly made off with small goods like body wash, candles and grocery, all valued at less than $1,000.
The value of the goods said to have been taken meant by Virginia law that the now former Wizard was being charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor, for which he had a court hearing scheduled on Feb. 7. The punishment for someone found guilty of such an offense amounted to “confinement in jail for not more than 12 months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either or both.”
In their initial statement on the matter, the team had merely posted to social media, “Official: We have waived guard Ryan Rollins.”
Official: We have waived guard Ryan Rollins.
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) January 9, 2024
As the allegations against Rollins came to light, his agent, Mike Silverman, and his attorney Nathan Muyskens, both had declined to comment to The Athletic.
Meanwhile, Michael Winger, the president of Monumental Basketball, the collective that owns the Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals, told the outlet, “We just recently learned of the charges against Ryan. We cannot comment on that matter, or the basis for our roster decisions.”
“We do take our role very seriously as citizens of the DMV, representatives of our fans and a team our community can be proud of, ” he continued, referencing the metropolitan area that included Washington, D.C., and portions of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. “These are expectations, not aspirations. We’re eager to move forward with our team as constituted and pursue excellence on and off the court.”
Like other metropolitan areas, crime remained a major issue for D.C. in 2023 with homicides jumping 35% while carjackings had nearly doubled. In response, this week legislation was proposed to address violent crime by providing officers with fewer restrictions while dealing with offenders and pushing for stiffer penalties while allowing judges more leeway to detain suspects, the Associate Press reported.
Rollins had played 10 games during the season for the Wizards who, with a 6-31 record, were sitting just above the Detroit Pistons at the bottom of the standings in the Eastern Conference.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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