Michael Beasley checks into rehab

[seniorsooner]

I know this is technically NBA related, so mods go ahead and move it if need be. I just thought it would be of some interest here as he's a former Big 12 player.


Miami Heat forward Michael Beasley has entered a rehabilitation hospital in Houston to address possible substance and psychological issues, multiple media outlets reported Monday.

Beasley, who last year was hit with a $50,000 fine stemming from an incident at the NBA's annual rookie symposium, checked into an unidentified facility in Houston this past weekend, the reports said, citing unnamed sources.

The Heat and the NBA declined comment to Yahoo! Sports, which first reported the story.

A photo of the No. 2 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft was posted Friday to his Twitter account, in which Beasley is displaying a new tattoo across his shoulders.

That image also captured what appeared to be a small plastic bag on an adjacent table, the contents of which were unclear.

Beasley's Twitter account has since been closed, as is another one he used earlier this year.

Beasley, who averaged 13.9 points and 5.4 rebounds during his rookie season, was fined by the NBA in September after acknowledging he was involved in an incident involving teammate Mario Chalmers and Memphis' Darrell Arthur at the Rookie Transition Program that month.

The NBA said Beasley, the No. 2 overall pick, originally failed to cooperate with the league investigation of the matter. The Heat said Beasley eventually chose to reveal that he was part of the incident.

Chalmers and Arthur, former Kansas teammates, were fined $20,000 apiece after being banished from the rookie symposium.

They were found in a room at the resort where the event was taking place with two women -- which violated NBA policy for the event. Security at the resort said the scent of marijuana was detected, but no drugs or drug paraphernalia were found, and Chalmers and Arthur both insisted they were not using any illegal substances.

Beasley's involvement in the incident was unclear.

 

[thebigabd]

Hopefully he gets the help he needs.. He is a very talented basketball player.

 

[CrimsonOberon]

I hate to hear that. I had no love for Beasley when he was a rival of ours, but never would have wished ill on him as a person.

I'm very glad that he checked himself into a program BEFORE anything more serious came of his drug use. I hope he sticks with it and comes back clean. He has far too much talent to waste it by putting chemicals in his body that will only harm.

 

[red recluse]

if it was weed that led him to get the worst tat ever, a suspension should be in order. holy cow.

the question now is, does he want to be the next richard dumas or lamar odom?

 

[Seymore Cox]

Smoke everday.

 

[Cheno]

I'm not the least bit shocked. I guess I was wrong...I called him the next Big Dog Robinson coming out of college. Sorry Big Dog.

 

[BigTime]

Get better Beazy. We are pulling for you!

 

[Tony]

It is all very sad and scary. Hope he can get better. Depression is brutal.

 

[Cheno]

It is all very sad and scary. Hope he can get better. Depression is brutal.

So is drug abuse.

 

[Sam]

Chendog you better be careful your man Chalmers doesn't fall into the same hole that Beasley did.

 

[Cheno]

Chendog you better be careful your man Chalmers doesn't fall into the same hole that Beasley did.

Not worried about it in the least bit.

 

[One More Rebound]

I think Chalmers was a bad influence on Beasley...

 

[Cheno]

I think Chalmers was a bad influence on Beasley...

I know you are just ribbing me but Chalmers wasn't the one with weed in his possession and Chalmers has zero history of being a problem child. Beasley has definitely been a bad influence on Mario.

 

[Seymore Cox]

you know that Chalmers, Slim Shady, and Beasley was throwing those weed and sex parties.

 

[Cheno]

you know that Chalmers, Slim Shady, and Beasley was throwing those weed and sex parties.

What's a sex party?

 

[Sooner23]

What's a sex party?

 

[seniorsooner]

More to the Beasley story:

MIAMI -- Michael Beasley told his personal manager several days ago that he was working out in Houston because it brought "a change of scenery" from Miami and Washington.

What happened next is a mystery, even to those who know Beasley best.

The Miami Heat forward checked into a Houston rehabilitation facility last week and is being treated for various issues, including depression, a person briefed on the situation told The Associated Press on Monday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of privacy concerns, and could not say whether the other issues included drug or alcohol treatment.

"Based on what I'm getting right now, there's a bit of concern," Bruce Shingler, Beasley's manager, told The AP in a telephone interview. "I don't really know what's going on. I just know his mom is on her way to go see him in Houston. That's it. I'm still collecting a lot of information."

It's unknown how long Beasley will remain at the facility, or whether he will be available when the Heat open training camp on Sept. 28.

Shingler also said he wasn't sure how long Beasley has been in Houston, or specifically why that was his destination.

Yahoo! Sports first reported that Beasley had entered a rehab facility.

"From what I know, he was just getting ready for the upcoming season," Shingler said. "The last time I talked to him, everything was going well. All this rehab and all that, I was totally unaware. It all started as he wanted to go work out in a different place because he wanted to get away. Now this, I don't know what's going on."

The spiral appears to have started in earnest Friday, when a photo of the No. 2 pick in the 2008 NBA draft was posted to his Twitter account. In the photo Beasley displayed a new tattoo across his shoulders, and the image also captured what appeared to be a small plastic bag on an adjacent table. The contents of the bag were unclear.

Under the NBA's anti-drug rules, there are some instances in which a player who comes forward voluntarily to request help with a substance-abuse issue is not penalized as harshly as a player who randomly tests positive and is thereby forced to enter the treatment program. The NBA never discloses who is in its drug treatment program.

But that punishment mitigation does not extend to players who are already in the program, as Beasley was widely assumed to be after his expulsion from the rookie orientation program.

Beasley was already getting treatment when the photograph -- and several comments, including "Feelin like it's not worth livin!!!!!!! I'm done" and "I feel like the whole world is against me I can't win for losin" -- were posted on the feed.

Beasley's account has since been closed. Another account he used was shut down July 27.

Adande: Beasley's Troubled Course

This sad Michael Beasley case demonstrates that a forced year of college isn't the magical solution to the league's youthful problems, writes J.A. Adande. Story

"What Michael Jr. is going [through] is just a bump on the road we call life," said a posting Monday on Michael Beasley Sr.'s Twitter feed. "Please pray for him, he needs it."

A phone call to Beasley Sr.'s home in Bowie, Md., went unanswered.

Beasley finished his rookie season as Miami's second-leading scorer behind Dwyane Wade, averaging 13.9 points and 5.4 rebounds. He spent much of the year as a reserve, and both Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and team president Pat Riley talked often this summer about utilizing Beasley more this coming season at small forward and power forward.

"Beas, we hope that we're going to see a lot of him at the 3 spot," Riley said in a conference call with the team's beat writers earlier this month.

At times this past season, Beasley's immaturity was of some concern to teammates. He typically laughed off such criticism, saying he was young and acting accordingly.

"The guy's got a lot of talent," Wade told The AP during a July conversation on a number of topics, including Beasley's potential. "I can't wait to see what he does with it. He's 20 years old. I'd love to see it all come together this year."

Beasley's second season, much like his first pro year, is off to an ominous start.

Beasley was fined $50,000 by the NBA in September after security officers at the league's rookie symposium detected the scent of marijuana in a hotel room occupied by Beasley, Mario Chalmers, Darrell Arthur and two women. Chalmers and Arthur were fined $20,000; Beasley drew the stiffer fine for at first trying to hide his presence from NBA officials.

Beasley told The AP in January that there were times during his first six months as a professional that he felt "everyone was against me" and that many things "get blown out of proportion" -- referring specifically to the rookie symposium incident.

He spent one season at Kansas State before entering the draft, averaging 26.2 points and 12.4 rebounds in his lone college year.

"As a rule, I do not comment about the private lives of my student-athletes, either current or former," Kansas State coach Frank Martin said in a statement. "However, Michael, like every student-athlete I've coached, will always have my undying support."

 

[coolm]

I really feel for the kid.

He has some serious demons and he needs some people around him who care about HIM whether he ever picks up another basketball or not.

It has nothing to do with smoking some dope. nothing.

It has everything to do with being immature and learning to deal with all the things he has at his fingertips while NOT having any experience setting his own limits. He hasn't been given a chance to grow up even before the college level and now he's a multi-millionaire with the world at his feet.

Frankly, It would get many of us in trouble.

 

[MercedeSooner]

Get help, get the mind right then the body will follow. This kid is too talented and it would be so sad if he couldnt realize his potential. Im pulling for you bud.

 

[Cheno]

I really feel for the kid.
He has some serious demons and he needs some people around him who care about HIM whether he ever picks up another basketball or not.
It has nothing to do with smoking some dope. nothing.

CoolM I'm curious where you got your info because ESPN is reporting exactly the opposite. The reporter said people close to the situation say it's mainly about weed and that the psychological isn't a big issue and they don't fear that. It's all about the drug abuse problem. And that Pat Riley pulled him aside and said he needed to check into rehab.
They are saying players, coaches, executives around the league aren't surprised. That his problem was apparent in pre-draft interviews.
There is a reason the Heat have been trying to trade him for awhile now.