NBA Star Turns Himself In to Police - Report
J.R. Smith soon might learn what the score is when it comes to “you do the crime, you do the time.”
The Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard — and launcher of a thousand NBA Twitter memes after he famously forgot the score toward the end of Game 1 of the NBA Finals this past June — turned himself in to New York Police Department officers Friday morning in connection with an incident at the Park Restaurant in Chelsea in July, the New York Post reported.
Smith allegedly grabbed the cellphone of a fan and tossed it over the fence and into a construction site.
The NYPD issued a desk-appearance ticket, and Smith will have to answer the misdemeanor charges in court in New York even as the upcoming NBA season — during which the 32-year-old Smith will play for a rump-state version of the LeBron James-less Cavs — looms in mid-October.
EXCLUSIVE: J.R. Smith turns himself in to NYPD for allegedly tossing fan’s phone https://t.co/3HzsoAALC0 pic.twitter.com/hpX0Z5tMBD
— New York Post (@nypost) August 31, 2018
Smith’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, was dismissive of the severity of the situation.
“This is nonsense, and we’re not going to respond to nonsense,” Spiro said.
The incident in question happened July 26, when Smith allegedly grabbed a fan’s phone and tossed it into the aforementioned construction site after the man tried to take a picture of the former New York Knick.
The fan, identified as a 20-year-old from Pennsylvania, then borrowed another person’s phone and called the police to file a criminal mischief complaint.
The Post reported Massimo Cusumano, a friend of the alleged victim, took to Twitter to say, “Still cant believe JR Smith launched my boy’s phone to Jersey…my boy pulls out his phone, takes a snap, and JR comes over and launches that s— like a hail mary.”
Smith is notoriously hotheaded both on and off the court, and this is not the first time his temper has run him afoul of the law.
In 2015, a fan taking a picture of Smith found himself in a choke hold after Smith took umbrage.
In that case, however, there was a bit more to the story.
The 19-year-old victim asked for a photo op, and when Smith refused, the young man then started taunting Smith about the latter’s trade from the Knicks to the Cavaliers, setting Smith off.
At that time, the district attorney looked into the matter and sent Smith on his way without filing charges.
Still, we’ve seen what happens when hotheaded celebrities show why being paparazzi is a more dangerous job than a lot of people think.
And J.R. Smith is nothing if not a hotheaded celebrity.
While the justice system will, as the law and common morality demand, treat the commission of a crime with the full extent of the force of law, there’s still a common-sense lesson to be learned here.
As for Smith, there’s a fair case for leniency here — having to play for the 2018-19 Cavaliers should be punishment enough for any sin.
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