And high in the rankings of "all-time stupid lawsuits":
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3038017
HOUSTON -- Former Dallas Maverick Roy Tarpley filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday, claiming the NBA and the team violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to reinstate him to the league.
Tarpley, who was permanently banned from the NBA in 1995, claimed in his lawsuit the NBA and the Mavericks discriminated against him on the basis of his disability as a recovering drug and alcohol abuser.
"Tarpley is a qualified individual with a disability within the meaning of the ADA, in that he has a disability in the form of past drug and alcohol abuse, which substantially limits at least one of his major life activities," according to the 46-page lawsuit, which was filed in Houston federal court.
In July 2006, Tarpley filed a charge of discrimination against the NBA with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In May, the EEOC sided with the player, ruling the NBA and the Mavericks violated the disabilities act by failing to reinstate Tarpley, who has passed all drug tests he's taken in the last four years.
"I really didn't want to do this, but they left me no choice. We tried to work things out. I applied for reinstatement and they just swept it under the rug," Tarpley told Houston television station KRIV, which first reported the lawsuit.
Tarpley, 42, said the lawsuit is not about trying to play again but about clearing his name.
Mavericks spokeswoman Sarah Melton said the team had no comment on the lawsuit. NBA spokesman Tim Frank did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.
The 7-foot Tarpley was the seventh pick in the 1986 NBA draft out of Michigan. He played for the Mavericks from 1986 until he was thrown out of the NBA in October 1991 for using cocaine, a violation of the league's substance-abuse policy.
For two years Tarpley played professional basketball in Greece until he was reinstated by the NBA in 1994. He then signed a six-year, $20 million contract with the Mavericks.
But Tarpley's NBA return was brief. He was permanently banned from the league in December 1995 for using alcohol and violating the terms of a court-imposed personal aftercare program.
In a six-season career with the Mavericks, Tarpley averaged 12.6 points and 10.0 rebounds per game.
In his lawsuit, Tarpley said the basis for the NBA's permanent suspension was an "extremely low test result" that showed a blood alcohol level of about .003 percent. In comparison, Texas considers a driver intoxicated with a blood alcohol level of .08 percent, the lawsuit said.
Tarpley later entered a drug and alcohol recovery program in 2003 with the help of former NBA coach John Lucas, who has helped other athletes get clean.
In the lawsuit, Tarpley said after applying for reinstatement he successfully completed 52 weeks of drug and alcohol testing, which the NBA had requested. But his reinstatement was still denied, according to his attorneys.
"What he went through and the hoops that he went through to comply with what the NBA wanted and how the NBA treated him was just downright wrong, unfair, and cruel," Joe Walker, one of Tarpley's attorneys, told KRIV. "We're making the NBA and the Mavericks accountable for the way they treated him."
While the lawsuit does not specify a dollar amount for damages, Tarpley's original EEOC complaint asked for more than $6 million.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3038017
HOUSTON -- Former Dallas Maverick Roy Tarpley filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday, claiming the NBA and the team violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to reinstate him to the league.
Tarpley, who was permanently banned from the NBA in 1995, claimed in his lawsuit the NBA and the Mavericks discriminated against him on the basis of his disability as a recovering drug and alcohol abuser.
"Tarpley is a qualified individual with a disability within the meaning of the ADA, in that he has a disability in the form of past drug and alcohol abuse, which substantially limits at least one of his major life activities," according to the 46-page lawsuit, which was filed in Houston federal court.
In July 2006, Tarpley filed a charge of discrimination against the NBA with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In May, the EEOC sided with the player, ruling the NBA and the Mavericks violated the disabilities act by failing to reinstate Tarpley, who has passed all drug tests he's taken in the last four years.
"I really didn't want to do this, but they left me no choice. We tried to work things out. I applied for reinstatement and they just swept it under the rug," Tarpley told Houston television station KRIV, which first reported the lawsuit.
Tarpley, 42, said the lawsuit is not about trying to play again but about clearing his name.
Mavericks spokeswoman Sarah Melton said the team had no comment on the lawsuit. NBA spokesman Tim Frank did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.
The 7-foot Tarpley was the seventh pick in the 1986 NBA draft out of Michigan. He played for the Mavericks from 1986 until he was thrown out of the NBA in October 1991 for using cocaine, a violation of the league's substance-abuse policy.
For two years Tarpley played professional basketball in Greece until he was reinstated by the NBA in 1994. He then signed a six-year, $20 million contract with the Mavericks.
But Tarpley's NBA return was brief. He was permanently banned from the league in December 1995 for using alcohol and violating the terms of a court-imposed personal aftercare program.
In a six-season career with the Mavericks, Tarpley averaged 12.6 points and 10.0 rebounds per game.
In his lawsuit, Tarpley said the basis for the NBA's permanent suspension was an "extremely low test result" that showed a blood alcohol level of about .003 percent. In comparison, Texas considers a driver intoxicated with a blood alcohol level of .08 percent, the lawsuit said.
Tarpley later entered a drug and alcohol recovery program in 2003 with the help of former NBA coach John Lucas, who has helped other athletes get clean.
In the lawsuit, Tarpley said after applying for reinstatement he successfully completed 52 weeks of drug and alcohol testing, which the NBA had requested. But his reinstatement was still denied, according to his attorneys.
"What he went through and the hoops that he went through to comply with what the NBA wanted and how the NBA treated him was just downright wrong, unfair, and cruel," Joe Walker, one of Tarpley's attorneys, told KRIV. "We're making the NBA and the Mavericks accountable for the way they treated him."
While the lawsuit does not specify a dollar amount for damages, Tarpley's original EEOC complaint asked for more than $6 million.
