Sprewell might go homeless

[AleksandarN]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3241444

MILWAUKEE -- Former NBA star Latrell Sprewell's home is up for foreclosure and his yacht sold at auction to help pay off the $1.3 million he owes on the boat, according to court filings.
Sprewell, who once turned down a three-year, $21 million contract extension saying, "I've got my family to feed," has apparently fallen on tough times.

Sprewell


RBS Citizens NA, or Citizens Bank, filed a foreclosure suit last week in Milwaukee County for the $405,000 home Sprewell bought in the Milwaukee suburb of River Hills in 1994.
In court documents, the bank said Sprewell owed $295,138 in outstanding payments plus interest.
Sprewell failed to make his mortgage payments of $2,593 per month from September 2007 to January 2008, the documents said.
The Associated Press tried to reach Sprewell for comment Monday but a telephone number in his name was disconnected. A message to one of his attorneys, Robert A. Gist of Atlanta, and an agency in New York were not immediately returned.
The 37-year-old Sprewell played 13 seasons in the NBA for the Minnesota Timberwolves, the New York Knicks and the Golden State Warriors. The Milwaukee native was a four-time All-Star, but perhaps best known for choking coach P.J. Carlesimo during a Warriors practice in 1997.
He hasn't played professional basketball since turning down the $21 million extension from the Timberwolves during the 2004-05 season. He was making $14.6 million at the time.
Last month, Sprewell's 70-foot yacht, named "Milwaukee's Best," was sold at auction for $856,000 to a man from Milwaukee.
It was originally worth about $1.5 million. The bank holding that mortgage, New York-based North Fork Bank, asked that it be seized to pay off $1.3 million in debt.
Sprewell's firm, LSF Marine Holdings, hadn't made its $10,322 monthly payments on time or maintained the necessary insurance on the boat, the bank said. Sprewell bought the yacht built by the Italian firm Azimut-Benetti in 2003, according to court records.
A federal marshal seized the boat last summer in Manitowoc, about 80 miles north of Milwaukee, where it was in storage.
The sale price means the bank is still owed about $500,000, and it said in court filings it plans to go after the rest.
Last week, prosecutors in New York said they'd drop their case against Sprewell, who was accused of assaulting his girlfriend in front of their children. Prosecutors in Westchester County said the charges will be dismissed in a year if Sprewell stays out of trouble.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

 

[piksi]

idiot

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

idiot

Calling this guy an idiot is an insult to idiots the world over. According to basketball-reference.com, Sprewell made an estimated $96,622,500M throughout his career.

What kind of jackass goes broke on ninety-seven million dollars?

 

[piksi]

Calling this guy an idiot is an insult to idiots the world over. According to basketball-reference.com, Sprewell made an estimated $96,622,500M throughout his career.

I publicly apologize to all the regular idiots of the world for insulting them so badly


I also hope that his family doesn't starve

What kind of jackass goes broke on ninety-seven million dollars?

Well compared to Mike Tyson - Spree is a genius

 

[Superman]

The guy is a colossal idiot. Like Slim said, you make almost a hundred million dollars in ten years or so, and now you can't make a $2,600 a month mortgage payment? Do you know how many clients I have that would kill to have their mortgage payments back at $2,600 a month? And these are regular, five-figure, "middle class" people! What a dumb-***.

(That having been said, I don't know how fair it is to broadcast someone's financial difficulties in front of the world. I work with people in this kind of trouble, so I know how personal a matter it is. And I bet there are people on this board in this kind of trouble; none of them are likely to put their business on the street like this. Again, this is just one of my personal problems with the "media". But Sprewell deserves to be blasted for this type of crap, so carry on, mateys.)

 

[Gargamel]

What kind of jackass goes broke on ninety-seven million dollars?

What kind of multi-gillionaire lives close to Milwaukee?

 

[Entity]

I publicly apologize to all the regular idiots of the world for insulting them so badly


I also hope that his family doesn't starve


Well compared to Mike Tyson - Spree is a genius

appology accepted.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I'm sure he's not really bankrupt, he's probably got more money than we'll ever see tied up in various corporations that are separate from his personal wealth. Those may very well be failing. But I doubt he's actually broke.

 

[Glenn]

What kind of multi-gillionaire lives close to Milwaukee?

If you want to put down Milwaukee, the put down requires at least 2 out of the following 3 subjects to be mentioned: Polish ancestry, beer, or bowling shirts.

Thank you. If you need any more help, you know where to find me. I specialize in insults to Iowans and Swedes.

As to whether or not he has other money, SPREE, FIND IT AND PAY FOR YOUR HOME!!!! If he's saving it for a rainey day, IT'S RAINING!!!!

 

[Gargamel]

If you want to put down Milwaukee, the put down requires at least 2 out of the following 3 subjects to be mentioned: Polish ancestry, beer, or bowling shirts.

I have German ancestry and I don't bowl, so putting down Poles, American beer, and bowling shirts would probably come naturally.

What's your beef w/ the Iowans? What have they done now?

 

[Spike]

Schadenfreude at its finest.

 

[kennadog]

(That having been said, I don't know how fair it is to broadcast someone's financial difficulties in front of the world. Again, this is just one of my personal problems with the "media".)

Well, foreclosures are public record and so are auctions. It's just that the majority of people aren't interested in Joe Blow's financial problems. The best way to not have your financial difficulties become public record is to stay out of financial trouble.

Having said that, there are people who end up losing everything, through no fault of their own. Permanent disability, catastrophic illness. Those are the people I feel sorry for and it is beyond difficult for them. Spree, I feel no sympathy for at all.

 

[Superman]

Well, foreclosures are public record and so are auctions. It's just that the majority of people aren't interested in Joe Blow's financial problems. The best way to not have your financial difficulties become public record is to stay out of financial trouble.

Tell that to the half million people who lost their homes last year. And, by the way, just because something is public record doesn't mean you want the public to know. Divorces are public record; do you want your divorce in the paper?

Having said that, there are people who end up losing everything, through no fault of their own. Permanent disability, catastrophic illness. Those are the people I feel sorry for and it is beyond difficult for them. Spree, I feel no sympathy for at all.

I don't feel sympathy for Sprewell, necessarily. I just hate that public figures personal business is considered public business. It's annoying to me. I'm especially sensitive to this issue since I work with people facing foreclosure.

 

[VF21]

Comparing Latrell Sprewell's difficulties to the public at large and the problems with foreclosures right now is like comparing apples and cannonballs.

Public figures are PUBLIC figures. This is an ongoing saga with Spree and I don't see any problem with reporting the latest chapter. It's not like it's going to have a negative impact on him or anything. His financial dealings have been in the media for a long, long time. He's the one that publicly announced he was turning down the TWolves offer because he had to feed his family. He opened the can of worms. I don't think he or anyone else can complain now if people are digging around.

And again, there's a tremendous difference between Latrell Sprewell and the poor schmuck down the corner who faces foreclosure. I'd be willing to bet the home currently being foreclosed is NOT the actual home he and his family are living in.

 

[kennadog]

Tell that to the half million people who lost their homes last year. And, by the way, just because something is public record doesn't mean you want the public to know. Divorces are public record; do you want your divorce in the paper?

I don't feel sympathy for Sprewell, necessarily. I just hate that public figures personal business is considered public business. It's annoying to me. I'm especially sensitive to this issue since I work with people facing foreclosure.

No, I wouldn't want everyone to know. My only point was that it is public record and anyone can read it, whether I like it or not.

I've been in the low-income housing financing business for about 20 years now, including homebuyer programs. I've seen tragic circumstances surrounding foreclosures. Sadly, the current steep foreclosure increase was predictable, though.

 

[Superman]

Comparing Latrell Sprewell's difficulties to the public at large and the problems with foreclosures right now is like comparing apples and cannonballs.

Public figures are PUBLIC figures. This is an ongoing saga with Spree and I don't see any problem with reporting the latest chapter. It's not like it's going to have a negative impact on him or anything. His financial dealings have been in the media for a long, long time. He's the one that publicly announced he was turning down the TWolves offer because he had to feed his family. He opened the can of worms. I don't think he or anyone else can complain now if people are digging around.

And again, there's a tremendous difference between Latrell Sprewell and the poor schmuck down the corner who faces foreclosure. I'd be willing to bet the home currently being foreclosed is NOT the actual home he and his family are living in.

It's like I said, Sprewell deserves the attention and criticism he's getting regarding this foreclosure. And this is probably not his primary residence; the note is only $2,600 a month. It's probably a house he bought for a friend or family member who bailed on it.

But my comments were not about Sprewell.

I disagree that public figures should be - as a rule - subjected to having all of their business probed and reported on like it's everyone else's business. I have always disagreed and always will. There is a multi-million dollar industry based on spreading private news and gossip about celebrities. I honestly find it appalling.

And my previous statement was in response to the comment that foreclosures are public record and if you don't want people to know then you should just stay out of foreclosure. I disagree with the rationale behind that also; 99% of people who are in foreclosure do not have the options Sprewell does/did. We're not talking about paying a cell phone bill so you don't have to go through the embarrassment of having your phone turned off. We're talking about losing your home because you have no other options. I wouldn't want the AP reporting on that if it were me.

 

[kennadog]

I do agree with you, Superman, that I find the reporting of the very private details of anyone's life has reached obscene levels. Particularly the lives of "celebrities." Too bad, it sells so well. I don't even want to think about what that says about us as a society.