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Ex-NBA player Ben Gordon’s latest arrest for allegedly striking son part of troubled history
Former NBA player Ben Gordon’s latest arrest in New York City adds to an already troubled past with a string of disturbing busts to his name and a publicly documented battle with depression.
nypost.com
Ex-NBA player Ben Gordon’s latest arrest for allegedly striking son part of troubled history
By
Emily Crane
October 11, 2022 2:19pm
Updated
Former NBA player Ben Gordon’s latest arrest in New York City adds to an already troubled past with a string of disturbing busts to his name and a publicly documented battle with depression.The 39-year-old Mount Vernon native was most recently nabbed for allegedly hitting his 10-year-old son at LaGuardia airport late Monday as they were waiting for a Chicago-bound flight, law enforcement sources told The Post.
The former shooting guard — who earned an estimated $84 million during his NBA career — was barred from getting on the plane by cops, while his son was escorted by an aunt to the Long Island Jewish Children’s Hospital for evaluation.
Now, as Gordon awaits his arraignment in Queens Criminal Court, here’s a look back at his checkered history and what we know about him:
Pulling fire alarms
Gordon, who once played for the Chicago Bulls, was nabbed in June 2017 for pulling fire alarms in his Los Angeles apartment complex — despite there being no blaze.The basketball star apparently went into “meltdown mode” after getting locked out of his apartment, TMZ Sports reported at the time.
The LAPD and City Fire Department had responded and Gordon was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of falsely activating a fire alarm.
A warrant was later issued for his arrest after Gordon failed to appear in court at his arraignment for the fire alarm fiasco.
Ben Gordon was arrested in June 2017 for pulling falsely fire alarms in his Los Angeles apartment complex.Getty ImagesBarricaded in a bathroom
Gordon underwent a psychiatric evaluation in October 2017 after he was taken into custody following a bizarre altercation in a Westchester County store that he owned.Cops were called to the Of Our Own store in Mount Vernon after a distraught woman called 911 claiming that she’d just been in a confrontation with Gordon and that he’d locked the door of the store.
The woman, who was found crying and shaking by the door, was freed after police cut a hole in the glass.
Cops subsequently cuffed Gordon and took him to a nearby hospital after finding him hiding out in the bathroom.
The relationship between Gordon and the woman wasn’t revealed at the time, but she told cops they had gotten into an argument and he demanded she leave. He allegedly locked the door as she was packing her bag.
In October 2017, a woman called 911 claiming that she’d just been in a confrontation with Gordon and that he’d locked the door of the store.Getty ImagesForged license plate
Gordon, who won the Sixth Man of the Year award as a rookie, was arrested during a car stop in Manhattan in November 2017 for driving with a forged license plate.During the stop, cops ran the Florida license plate and realized the registration expiration date was different to what was displayed on the vehicle Gordon was driving.
He was arrested and given a desk appearance ticket, but a judge issued a warrant for his arrest months later when he failed to show in court.
Gordon was arrested during a car stop in Manhattan in November 2017 for driving with a forged license plate.Steven HirschA knife-wielding robbery
Trouble continued to follow Gordon just weeks later when he was apprehended in Los Angeles after allegedly assaulting and flashing a knife at his former apartment building manager.The assault unfolded when Gordon had tried to get back the security deposit he believed he was owed, police said at the time.
Gordon allegedly punched the manager in the face before he was given a portion of the deposit. He then left the scene, but allegedly returned with a knife and demanded the rest of the sum.
The victim called 911 and Gordon was taken into custody without incident on robbery charges.
Gordon was arrested for allegedly hitting his 10-year-old son at LaGuardia airport late Monday.Twitter/Ben GordonBattles with personal demons
In the wake of his string of arrests, Gordon opened up about his struggles with depression and the many times he nearly took his life in a first-person account in The Players’ Tribune in 2020.“I would be up on the roof of my apartment building at four o’ clock in the morning, just pacing to the edge of the ledge, looking over — pacing back and forth, back and forth — just thinking, I’m really about to do it, B,” Gordon wrote.
“I’m about to escape from all this s–t. I was obsessed with killing myself. It’s all I researched, all I thought about. One night my panic attacks got so bad that all I could think about was escape. … You become like an animal. It’s instinctive.”
He said he was convinced he was in purgatory after his 11th — and final — NBA season ended.
Gordon said that he’d never seen a therapist but eventually sought help after his various run-ins with the law.
An 11 season NBA career and personal life
The former Mount Vernon prep star and UConn national champion got his start in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls in 2004.What do you think? Post a comment.
He went on to play with the Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic.
Gordon has at least one son — the 10-year-old he was recently accused of striking. It wasn’t immediately clear who the child’s mother is and Gordon doesn’t appear to have publicly spoken about her in the past.
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