Charlotte
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
A former roommate of Jamal Sampson has brought a civil suit against Jamal Sampson alleging that Sampson shoved and kicked him six months ago in a dispute over about $400 in rent and cable bills the roommate owed Sampson. Bobcats president Ed Tapscott emphasized Wednesday that it is a civil suit. Sampson's agent claims it is a shakedown. The main concern is the desire by the Bobcats not to have any "bad guys" on their roster. Yet it seems quite unlikely that this will result in a scenario in which Sampson would be traded.
There are three possible outcomes. One is a full dismissal of the charges or a victory in court; in other words, a vindication of Sampson. Two is the most likely and is some form of settlement. Three is a losing verdict, whether appealed or not.
Only in the third situation would the Bobcats have any justification in moving Sampson for character reasons.
The roommate was a childhood friend of Sampson who claims the shoving resulted in a concussion and other injuries. The agent claims Sampson was merely physically evicting him from the premises after the roommate wouldn't leave.
One of the first two choices is clearly the most likely, with a confidential settlement being the most probable.
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The Associated Press writes inThe Winston-Salem Journal: Charlotte Bobcats center Jamal Sampson is being sued in California by a former roommate who alleges the NBA player assaulted him.Christian Straughter claims in a lawsuit filed last month in Los Angeles County that the 6-foot-11, 235-pound center shoved and kicked him in a dispute over about $400 Straughter owed in rent and cable bills. The suit claims that Straughter, a childhood friend of Sampson's who was staying with him at the time, suffered a concussion and other injuries in the Feb. 24 assault. He claims Sampson later threatened him to keep the alleged attack a secret.
Tom Sorensen ofThe Charlotte Observerwrites: Jamal Sampson, selected in the NBA expansion draft in June, has been accused of assaulting a former roommate. The roommate, Christian Straughter, contends in a lawsuit that Sampson pushed him to the floor of Sampson's Los Angeles County condominium and kicked him when he was down. Straughter says he suffered a concussion and other injuries... Sampson's agent denies this. He says the lawsuit is a shakedown. If it is, the story should quickly die and the courts ought to shake down Straughter. But if Sampson did what the ex-roommate claims, the Bobcats have to fire Sampson.Bob Johnson, the Bob in Bobcats, has said his players would never embarrass Charlotte. It's a Charlotte tradition. Charlotte Hornets owner George Shinn and Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson said the same thing.
SportsBusinessNews.comwrites: MLB, adopting a method used by the NBA with the Charlotte Bobcats expansion team, is seeking to pick the Expos' new home and craft a stadium deal with government officials before selling the team.To that end, baseball's relocation committee has been in deep negotiations for weeks with both the District and Northern Virginia on a ballpark pact.
Damon C. Williams ofThe Philadelphia Inquirerwrites: What's an artist to do, careerwise, once he has a string of platinum albums, numerous film roles, minority ownership of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats, and contracts promoting sports drinks, clothing designs and philanthropic foundations?In the case of superstar rapper Nelly, he's returning to his musical roots with an astounding double release next week. And this isn't the usual double-CD release; the St. Louis native plans on releasing two entirely separate releases - 24 cuts in all.