Dayshawn Wright kicked off Minot Skyrockets

[Minor League Man]

http://www.oursportscentral.com/serv...es/?id=3406372

All this fuss between the Minot Skyrockets/CBA and the Buffalo Silverbacks/ABA over who'd get him, and he gets cut...

[nksports]

How can you get in that much trouble in Minot? It's not like these guys can afford to hang out at strip clubs or support drug habits like NBA stars. They can't be arrested doing 180 at 4 a.m. naked in a Caddie SUV, watching porn on the in-cab DVD like the guys on badjocks.com.

[Chuck the Writer]

Originally Posted by nksports

How can you get in that much trouble in Minot? It's not like these guys can afford to hang out at strip clubs or support drug habits like NBA stars. They can't be arrested doing 180 at 4 a.m. naked in a Caddie SUV, watching porn on the in-cab DVD like the guys on badjocks.com.

Umm... you're closer to the truth than you think.

From the Minot Daily News:

http://www.minotdailynews.com/news/a...articleID=7564

Skyrockets plummet to Earth

By DAVE CALDWELL, Staff Writer dcaldwell@minotdailynews.com

The Minot Skyrockets are used to making their living on the basketball court. But dealings with another kind of court led to two Skyrockets players being released from the team Friday after a run-in with the law early Friday morning.

DayShawn Wright, 21, and Andre Joseph, 25, were arrested by Minot police on various charges following a traffic violation. Wright was the team’s first-ever first-round draft pick, and Joseph was the team’s newest acquisition, having played in his first game as a Skyrocket Thursday night.

Police docket reports indicate that police stopped a vehicle in the 400 block of North Broadway around 12:45 a.m. for disregarding a traffic control device. Officers discovered at that time that Wright was driving with a suspended license. Investigation revealed that both Joseph, whose given first name is Tyronzic, and Wright had open containers of alcohol in the vehicle, and were also both allegedly in possession of a small amount of marijuana.

Skyrockets head coach Chris Daleo’s reaction was swift and decisive when The Minot Daily News interviewed him around 9 a.m. Friday.

“First off, I’m just glad the Minot Police Department was doing their job and got that idiot (Wright) off the street before anybody was hurt or any property damaged,” Daleo said. “I mean, to drive around with a suspended license, whether you’re a Minot Skyrocket or not, there’s no excuse for that. So I’m just glad the police department was doing their due diligence and taking care of that. I’m happy about that.

“Secondly, that type of behavior is not acceptable, and he won’t be a part of the Minot Skyrockets,” he said. “We can’t have that. It’s easy here in Minot. Good team, good housing, good ownership and good fans. Players cut themselves, you know?

“We have to work with our community and embrace our community, not raise havoc in our community. So we give (the players) an opportunity to come in here and do good things and improve their games and grow as human beings and become a part of Minot, and if you want to thumb your nose up at it and do whatever you want to do, that’s fine. We don’t want you here. He’s welcome to go to any other club out there and raise havoc in that community. But not here in Minot.”

“My loyalties are to the city of Minot, not to DayShawn Wright,” he said. “And if (Joseph) falls in the exact same category, we don’t want him around, either.”

Wright, whose hometown is listed as Syracuse, N.Y., was subsequently convicted Friday morning in Municipal Court on the driving under suspension charge, a Class B misdemeanor. Judge Mark Rasmuson sentenced him to five days in jail, all suspended, and issued fines and fees that totaled $225. Wright was also convicted of having an open container of alcohol and disobeying a traffic control device, both traffic offenses, and fined a total of $70 for those infractions.

Later Friday, Wright appeared before Judge William McLees in Northwest District Court on a Class A misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance-marijuana. Although Assistant Ward County State’s Attorney Roza Larson said the state would not be seeking jail time in the case, Wright pleaded not guilty to the charge. The charge carries a maximum penalty of a $2,000 fine and $300 in mandatory fees. McLees ordered a pretrial conference to be set for March 9 at 11 a.m., and also set Wright’s bail at $1,000 cash or corporate surety.

Joseph, who hails from Houston, was also convicted Friday morning in Municipal Court, on a Class B misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana. Rasmuson handed down a five-day suspended jail sentence with fines and fees totaling $275. He was also fined $50 for having an open container of alcohol as a passenger.

The 6-foot-7, 230-pound Wright played college basketball at Syracuse University. He appeared in seven games for the Skyrockets this season, averaging 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per contest. Joseph played at the University of Oregon. The 6-3, 175-pound guard, who had played in Europe and in the National Basketball Developmental League, was signed this week by the Skyrockets and played Thursday, scoring two points, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists.

“I don’t care whether you score 1,000 points a game or two points a game, you’re expected to come on in here and conduct yourself like a normal human being,” Daleo said. “And driving around on a suspended license at (12:30) in the morning is inexcusable for a basketball player or for anybody.

“I just choose not to have those people around,” the coach added.

If the two players find employment elsewhere in the Continental Basketball Association, Daleo said the league conducts drug testing that all players in the league are subject to. If a player tests positive for drugs, the league fines them.

“Everybody gets tested,” he said. “At the beginning of the year, then once by the middle of the year and periodically after that.”

[ABARedWhiteBlue]

Well, I guess it's back to the ABA:

ASK THE CEO - DRUG TESTING?

30-Aug-2005
Question from PP: "Does the league or the teams within the ABA conduct drug testing for street drugs and steroids?"

Answer: PP. Thanks for the question. It is often asked. No, the league and teams do not conduct drug testing for either street drugs or steroids. Our assumption is that our players are smart enough not to use either. Most ABA players are hoping to move up to the NBA or play internationally and know that their chances are great diminished with use of steroids or drugs. It is a shame that questions like these have to be asked of professional athletes. The NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL and other leagues do regular testing; over 99% of the players tested do not use drugs or steroids. I don't know the statistics, but I would assume that professional athletes would test better than the general population if everyone was tested. These athletes understand the importance of good nutrition, good conditioning and the negative effects of drugs and steroids on their bodies and their performance. We are trusting that good judgment will prevail and that all ABA players will always be drug free, steroid free. Thanks for the question.

Although, one wonders if only the players should be tested in the ABA...

[bdaly]

The Skyrockets let pride get in the way when they got involved in trying to grab Wright back from Buffalo. The Silverbacks probably now see it as a blessing. He made a fool out of himself and the organization, while Buffalo has assembled a pretty decent team without him. It will be interesting to see if he tries to crawl back to Buffalo (or Rochester seeing how close it is to Syracuse). Hopefully no one will take him in. The fact he couldn't last at SU should have been a hint regarding his conduct.