Former Jayhawks booted from NBA program
Chalmers and Arthur expelled from rookie symposium after getting caught with marijuana
By Case Keefer (Contact)
Thursday, September 4th, 2008
Former Kansas basketball players Darrell Arthur and Mario Chalmers were sent home from an NBA rookie program after being caught with marijuana, according to ESPN.
Chalmers, now a member of the Miami Heat, and Arthur, who plays for the Memphis Grizzlies, were reportedly fined and will be suspended for the beginning of the season.
“We’re still looking into it,” NBA spokesman Brian McIntyre told ESPN.com. “Once we have all the details, appropriate sanctions will be taken.”
Former Jayhawk guard Mario Chalmers was expelled from an NBA rookie program after he was caught with marijuana. Darrell Arthur, former Jayhawk forward, was also kicked out of the event.
McIntyre would only confirm that the two former Jayhawks “violated league rules.”
The ESPN article states the marijuana was found in Arthur and Chalmers’ hotel room in Rye Brook, N.Y., where the program is being held.
It said Chalmers and Arthur were accompanied by women in their room. Visitors are not allowed at the symposium.
The incident comes nearly five months after Arthur and Chalmers helped Kansas win its third NCAA basketball championship. Following the championship, both Arthur and Chalmers left school early to enter the NBA draft.
In a statement released by the Athletics Department, Kansas coach Bill Self said he would not comment on the situation.
“We really don’t know all the facts yet,” Self said, “and I certainly would never comment publicly on any personal matter concerning any player I have ever coached.”
ESPN also reported that Chalmers’ Heat teammate and former Kansas State standout Michael Beasley was in the room when the two were caught, but was not involved.
Arthur and Chalmers will be required to attend the program next year because they were kicked out of this year’s session.
“I can say that both Mario and Darrell were great to coach,” Self said. “They played a huge role in our success the past few years, in large part due to their unselfishness and the sacrifices they made for our program.”
Arthur and Chalmers aren’t the only professional Jayhawks to get into trouble at a rookie symposium this year.
Former All-American Kansas football player Aqib Talib, a cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, got into a fight with a teammate at the NFL’s similar program this summer during a finance seminar.
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