No one is above the law. Not even if you're Boston Celtics icon and two-time NBA champion Ray Allen.
The 46-year-old Hall of Famer had to learn this the hard way after Allen was reportedly reprimanded and slapped with a fine by a U.S. District judge for failing to fulfill his duty as part of a court-appointed jury. Apparently, the reason why Allen wasn't able to attend to his legal duties was because he took the time to fly to Boston to attend Kevin Garnett's recent jersey retirement ceremony with the Celtics.
Jay Weaver of the Miami Herald provides the details of Allen's recent run-in with the law:
Allen was among 14 permanent and alternate jurors originally picked in early March for the federal trial of Jorge Aponte Figueroa, who was the only defendant of those charged who had not struck a plea deal with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The trial was initially scheduled for March 14. But after he was selected as a juror, Allen asked the judge for a favor to start the trial the following day because he had to be a presenter at the jersey retirement ceremony of former Celtics teammate Kevin Garnett on March 13.
To accommodate Allen’s trip to Boston, Cooke set her trial for March 15. But Allen didn’t show up. Her courtroom deputy, Ivan Marchena, tried to reach him and left messages with Allen. He didn’t respond. So the trial started without him, and the judge issued an order to “show cause” why Allen should not be sanctioned for failing to appear as a selected juror.
The judge was gracious enough to grant Allen's request to postpone the hearing, which in itself is already unusual. However, Allen still failed to attend the hearing which took place two days after KG's jersey ceremony. The reason why Allen ended up bailing on his jury duty remains unclear, but his attorney did issue an apology on behalf of his client saying that, “it was a complete misunderstanding.”
On Wednesday, Allen was present for the hearing and it was then that the judge reprimanded the former 10-time All-Star for his negligence. Allen was also asked to pay a fine of $1,000 for his actions, which will be donated to his charity of choice.
That's how much Ray Allen wanted to be in KG's jersey retirement ceremony. He skipped his civic duty just to show his support to his former Celtics teammate. I guess this should finally end the beef narrative between two of the greatest players in Boston's franchise history.
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