Getty Image / Harry How / Staff
Former first-round NBA pick Delonte West does not appear to be in a good place. West is reportedly seen in a pair of heartbreaking videos where the former NBA player is being assaulted in the middle of the street and one where he is handcuffed and being questioned by police.
An unverified video allegedly shows a fight between two men in the middle of the street. Traffic is stopped as one man repeatedly wails on the other man who appears to be knocked out or has been beaten to submission. The account that posted the video on Twitter claims that the man who was attacked is Delonte West.
“Apparently Delonte West was seen getting beat up in the street this Morning,” the Twitter user wrote. “I went to school with him and it’s crazy to see just how his life has gone downhill since the NBA.”
https://twitter.com/N90sKindOfWorld/status/1219339349843763203
Another video was posted about five hours later, which allegedly shares the aftermath of the fight. Police are questioning a man, who is wearing white pants that look like the man who was assaulted in the earlier video. The man who is in handcuffs and is quite troubled is reportedly Delonte West.
The person who uploaded the footage captioned his tweet: “Slim doing bad NBA need to offer him some help.”
https://twitter.com/damani_givens/status/1219409909827149825
The cops were trying to find out which of the two men started the altercation. The shirtless man said he was approached by his attacker who had a gun. When asked where the gun was, the man twice screams, “I don’t give a f*ck!”
The man continues to yell and proclaims that he is the “goddamn leader of the Navy SEALs” and that he is the “real f*cking President” of the United States.
The 36-year-old Delonte West played in the NBA from 2004 until 2012, where he was a member of the Boston Celtics, Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Dallas Mavericks. During his NBA career, West scored over 4,000 career points and earned more than $16 million.
Delonte played on the Texas Legends of the NBA D-League in 2013, then signed a one-year contract with the Fujian Xunxing of China, followed by a one-year contract with the Shanghai Sharks. West returned to the Texas Legends, but was later waived after suffering a season-ending injury.
In 2016, Delonte’s brother Dmitri spoke to the Daily Mail about his sibling’s erratic behavior.
“Delonte West is not crazy, he is not on drugs,” Dmitri told the Daily Mail. “As far as I know, my brother was suffering from bipolar disorder.”
“I don’t know what exactly is going on in his mind but I can tell you that he is safe and he’s doing OK,” Dmitri said. “My family are trying to get him the best professional help that’s out there, the best that they can afford.”
There have been multiple reports following West’s professional basketball career that he was homeless. Let’s hope that Delonte West gets the help that he needs.