Out of Bounds: Inside the NBA's Culture of Rape, Violence, and Crime

By Jeff Benedict

Book Overview

Out of Bounds: Inside the NBA's Culture of Rape, Violence, and Crime is a searing indictment of professional basketball players who live in a world where criminal laws and social norms don't exist, a world where they are given license to act above the law. On the court, they dazzle us with their spectacular physical feats. They generate millions of dollars of revenue for the NBA and their teams. They inspire adulation. But underneath all the glitz, the money, and alley-oops is a seamy underbelly, a rash of lawlessness that is gripping the NBA. Based on a first-of-its-kind investigation into the criminal histories of 177 NBA players from the 2001-2002 season, Out of Bounds shows that an alarming four out of every ten NBA players have a police record involving a serious crime. They are All-Stars and they are journeymen, involved in crimes ranging from armed robbery to domestic violence to gun possession to rape. Out of Bounds takes a hard look at shocking cases, with graphic accounts of physical and sexual violence and other outrageous conduct by players. In all, more than 250 people are named, including many prominent NBA players. It exposes the environment and culture that encourages such criminal behavior. It also explains the unique challenges these cases pose for law-enforcement agencies and prosecutors. And Out of Bounds takes readers inside the hidden yet critically vital role that lawyers, agents, and fame play in insulating criminally accused players from accountability. Author Jeff Benedict, an expert on athletes and crime, draws his conclusions from exhaustive research. In addition to his criminal-background checks, the author retrieved documents from law-enforcement agencies, courts, and private attorneys. He conducted more than 400 interviews with police officers, prosecutors, defense lawyers, players, agents, victims, witnesses, and coaches. What emerges is a disturbing and appalling picture of men who live above the law. A seminal and important work, Out of Bounds will forever change how we look at the NBA and its stars' lives of excess and privilege.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060726024
• ISBN13: 9780060726027
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Harper
• Length: 254 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Great Read

This was a fantastic book! It really makes you think. I am a female who loves basketball and this book made reality set in! It makes you realize that you have to separate what a player does on the court from who he is. He may be a great player, but that doesn't mean he is that great off the court as well! Benedict makes some great points about the lifestyle of an NBA player!

An eye opener

I enjoyed reading this book it tells the truth about the thugs that many Americans have idiolized simply because they play basketball. The days of Larry Bird and Michael Jordan are long gone. Todays players are a bunch of immature perverts. Read this book if you want to know about the people you let your children idiolize.

good

i read this book in 3 days. Very interesting to know what NBA Stars have committed crimes, etc. I don't have a grudge against any of them, but it is pretty interesting to know.

Good Research, Good Writing.

I find myself reading this book with mixed feelings. I give it a high rating for research and for writing. But then I find myself saying, who cares. There was an incident where an underage girl (and in her pictures she didn't look underaged at all, more like a hooker) at a local mall approached a pro basketabll player and soon went up to his hotel room. Later on she cried rape. As Mr. Benedict says, there's a thin line between consensual sex and rape. You take someone who comes from the wrong side of the tracks, you give him fame and a few million dollars, do you really expect someone you'd want to take home to mother and dad. These athletes aren't being selected for their social graces, they're being selected for basketball proficiency. I think that the book really explains what you'd expect to find. Finally, why select the NBA? I remember when it seemed that Dallas wouldn't be able to field a Cowboys team because so many team members were in jail. And so far as I know, the NBA players haven't bitten off any ears. And as for rock stars....

OUT OF BOUNDS IS THE BEST SPORTS BOOK I'VE EVER READ!!!

OUT OF BOUNDS IS THE BEST SPORTS BOOK I'VE EVER READ!!! Most sports books are lousy. Larry Bird's DRIVE was boring, Bill Walton's NOTHING BUT NET had a few good stories but didn't tell me any of the stuff I really wanted to hear, and the books about superstars like David Beckham are usually books designed to make them seem like picture perfect family man who just happen to look like they're wild and crazy! But OUT OF BOUNDS is different! I've been following the NBA since 1973, and so I couldn't resist looking at Jeff Benedict's OUT OF BOUNDS, when I saw that it was about the NBA players and crime. I'd always wondered what exactly Ruben Patterson had done, and Jeff Benedict does a terrific job of researching Patterson's criminal history. Patterson, the self proclaimed "Kobe Stopper," sodomized his 16 year old nanny, beat his wife, and Benedict goes on to tell about many other NBA players who did similar things, and along the way he destroys the myths that the victims are groupies or women after players, and so on. (The stuff about the groupies never made sense to me anyhow, how many women are really pro basketball fans???) OUT OF BOUNDS is like a Mickey Spillane novel, with lots of names, locations, dates, and a terrific writing style that keeps you wanting to go to the next page! Jeff Benedict has changed the way I view NBA players--and all other pro athletes--forever! The other two great sports books I love are Dennis Rodman's BAD AS I WANNA BE and THE SELLING OF THE GREEN--the real story of the Boston Celtics--but OUT OF BOUNDS IS THE BEST SPORTS BOOK I'VE EVER READ!!! Chari Krishnan RESEARCHKING