http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/43807.html
Kings' new coach busted
Musselman is arrested in Sacramento on suspicion of driving while drunk.
By Ryan Lillis and Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writers
Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, October 22, 2006
First-year Kings coach Eric Musselman was arrested early Saturday on suspicion of drunken driving, authorities said.
Musselman, 41, who hours earlier had made his Arco Arena debut as Sacramento's head coach, was pulled over on K Street in east Sacramento around 2:15 a.m. after cutting off another motorist, according to officer Jasper Begay, a California Highway Patrol spokesman.
Musselman provided two Breathalyzer tests to CHP officers and showed a blood alcohol level of .11 percent, according to an arrest report filed at the Sacramento County jail. The legal limit in California is .08 percent.
Musselman was booked then released about three hours later, records show.
"We're not going to fire him, suspend him or fine him," said Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof, when reached by cellular phone in Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon. "But we don't know what the league is going to do at this point."
Tim Frank, the NBA's vice president for basketball communications, declined comment. But Musselman could be suspended if his arrest leads to a conviction.
League officials - led by Commissioner David Stern, who has made building a respectable public image a priority in recent years - do not differentiate between players and coaches when considering discipline for off-court actions. A decision on a penalty is not expected until the case has been resolved in Sacramento courts.
Kings players did not return phone messages, and team officials planned a news conference today to address the incident.
In a statement released Saturday, Geoff Petrie, Kings president of basketball operations, said Musselman called him around 6 a.m. and "was very apologetic and ashamed for the lack of discretion leading to this situation."
"On behalf of the Kings organization, we are very disappointed in the poor personal behavior which precipitated this incident," Petrie said. "We also believe Eric will face this adversity honestly and appropriately."
Musselman's return to head coaching came three years after he was fired from his first head coaching job at Golden State, where he went 75-89 in two seasons. He spent the past two seasons in Memphis as an assistant, living apart from his two sons in the Bay Area and going through a divorce that was finalized last year.
Kings officials consistently cited Musselman's willingness to work long hours and his preparation skills, and he has lived up to his workaholic reputation, being the first to arrive at and the last to leave Kings practices. Away from work, Musselman has settled in Natomas, buying a house near Arco Arena. While Musselman declined numerous attempts from The Bee for comment on the arrest, he spoke in July of the importance of balancing work and play while at the Las Vegas Summer League.
"You have to have a fine balance between the intensity of the work environment," Musselman said. "But when you're out of that environment, it's important to enjoy life and live life to the fullest. There's nothing like competing, but you've got to let it go when you've got to let it go."
It is unclear where Musselman spent the hours between the end of the Kings' 112-96 exhibition victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night and his arrest.
Musselman was driving his silver 2006 Mercedes-Benz E350 with three passengers - two women and a man - when he made a right turn onto K Street from Alhambra Boulevard, Begay said.
The CHP officer did not know the identity of the passengers, but several sources confirmed to The Bee that the other man in the car was Darrin May, the team's executive director of media relations. Calls to May's work and cell phones were not returned.
Soon after turning onto K Street, Musselman cut off another motorist, and he was pulled over by a CHP officer near 30th Street, according to Begay and jail records. Officers "smelled the odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle" and "observed objective signs of intoxication" from Musselman, Begay said.
Musselman, who gave Arco Arena as his home address when taken into custody, was booked into the Sacramento County jail at 3:14 a.m., Begay said. He was released shortly before 6 a.m., according to jail records. "Unfortunately he made the wrong choice and got behind the wheel of a car and got arrested," Begay said.
Maloof said he told Musselman "you have to apologize to the community, to the team, to our family and especially to Geoff (Petrie)."
Maloof and his brother Joe, co-owners of the team, delayed a trip to New York so they could attend today's news conference at the team's practice facility, Gavin Maloof said.
With his emphasis on hustle and energy, Musselman was selected in June by the Maloofs to replace the decidedly lower-key longtime Kings coach Rick Adelman, who guided the team to eight consecutive playoff berths.
Musselman is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 20.
About the writer: The Bee's Ryan Lillis can be reached at (916) 321-1085 or rlillis@sacbee.com. Bee staff writer Scott Howard-Cooper and Bee sports columnist Ailene Voisin contributed to this report.
Kings' new coach busted
Musselman is arrested in Sacramento on suspicion of driving while drunk.
By Ryan Lillis and Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writers
Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, October 22, 2006
First-year Kings coach Eric Musselman was arrested early Saturday on suspicion of drunken driving, authorities said.
Musselman, 41, who hours earlier had made his Arco Arena debut as Sacramento's head coach, was pulled over on K Street in east Sacramento around 2:15 a.m. after cutting off another motorist, according to officer Jasper Begay, a California Highway Patrol spokesman.
Musselman provided two Breathalyzer tests to CHP officers and showed a blood alcohol level of .11 percent, according to an arrest report filed at the Sacramento County jail. The legal limit in California is .08 percent.
Musselman was booked then released about three hours later, records show.
"We're not going to fire him, suspend him or fine him," said Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof, when reached by cellular phone in Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon. "But we don't know what the league is going to do at this point."
Tim Frank, the NBA's vice president for basketball communications, declined comment. But Musselman could be suspended if his arrest leads to a conviction.
League officials - led by Commissioner David Stern, who has made building a respectable public image a priority in recent years - do not differentiate between players and coaches when considering discipline for off-court actions. A decision on a penalty is not expected until the case has been resolved in Sacramento courts.
Kings players did not return phone messages, and team officials planned a news conference today to address the incident.
In a statement released Saturday, Geoff Petrie, Kings president of basketball operations, said Musselman called him around 6 a.m. and "was very apologetic and ashamed for the lack of discretion leading to this situation."
"On behalf of the Kings organization, we are very disappointed in the poor personal behavior which precipitated this incident," Petrie said. "We also believe Eric will face this adversity honestly and appropriately."
Musselman's return to head coaching came three years after he was fired from his first head coaching job at Golden State, where he went 75-89 in two seasons. He spent the past two seasons in Memphis as an assistant, living apart from his two sons in the Bay Area and going through a divorce that was finalized last year.
Kings officials consistently cited Musselman's willingness to work long hours and his preparation skills, and he has lived up to his workaholic reputation, being the first to arrive at and the last to leave Kings practices. Away from work, Musselman has settled in Natomas, buying a house near Arco Arena. While Musselman declined numerous attempts from The Bee for comment on the arrest, he spoke in July of the importance of balancing work and play while at the Las Vegas Summer League.
"You have to have a fine balance between the intensity of the work environment," Musselman said. "But when you're out of that environment, it's important to enjoy life and live life to the fullest. There's nothing like competing, but you've got to let it go when you've got to let it go."
It is unclear where Musselman spent the hours between the end of the Kings' 112-96 exhibition victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night and his arrest.
Musselman was driving his silver 2006 Mercedes-Benz E350 with three passengers - two women and a man - when he made a right turn onto K Street from Alhambra Boulevard, Begay said.
The CHP officer did not know the identity of the passengers, but several sources confirmed to The Bee that the other man in the car was Darrin May, the team's executive director of media relations. Calls to May's work and cell phones were not returned.
Soon after turning onto K Street, Musselman cut off another motorist, and he was pulled over by a CHP officer near 30th Street, according to Begay and jail records. Officers "smelled the odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle" and "observed objective signs of intoxication" from Musselman, Begay said.
Musselman, who gave Arco Arena as his home address when taken into custody, was booked into the Sacramento County jail at 3:14 a.m., Begay said. He was released shortly before 6 a.m., according to jail records. "Unfortunately he made the wrong choice and got behind the wheel of a car and got arrested," Begay said.
Maloof said he told Musselman "you have to apologize to the community, to the team, to our family and especially to Geoff (Petrie)."
Maloof and his brother Joe, co-owners of the team, delayed a trip to New York so they could attend today's news conference at the team's practice facility, Gavin Maloof said.
With his emphasis on hustle and energy, Musselman was selected in June by the Maloofs to replace the decidedly lower-key longtime Kings coach Rick Adelman, who guided the team to eight consecutive playoff berths.
Musselman is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 20.
About the writer: The Bee's Ryan Lillis can be reached at (916) 321-1085 or rlillis@sacbee.com. Bee staff writer Scott Howard-Cooper and Bee sports columnist Ailene Voisin contributed to this report.
