Out of Bounds : Inside the NBA's Culture of Rape, Violence, and Crime [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

Jeff Benedict (Author)

Book Description

Out of Bounds: Inside the NBA's Culture of Rape, Violence, and Crime is a searing indictment of professional basketball players who live in a world where criminal laws and social norms don't exist, a world where they are given license to act above the law.

On the court, they dazzle us with their spectacular physical feats. They generate millions of dollars of revenue for the NBA and their teams. They inspire adulation. But underneath all the glitz, the money, and alley-oops is a seamy underbelly, a rash of lawlessness that is gripping the NBA.

Based on a first-of-its-kind investigation into the criminal histories of 177 NBA players from the 2001#150;2002 season, Out of Bounds shows that an alarming four out of every ten NBA players have a police record involving a serious crime. They are All-Stars and they are journeymen, involved in crimes ranging from armed robbery to domestic violence to gun possession to rape.

Out of Bounds takes a hard look at shocking cases, with graphic accounts of physical and sexual violence and other outrageous conduct by players. In all, more than 250 people are named, including many prominent NBA players. It exposes the environment and culture that encourages such criminal behavior. It also explains the unique challenges these cases pose for law-enforcement agencies and prosecutors. And Out of Bounds takes readers inside the hidden yet critically vital role that lawyers, agents, and fame play in insulating criminally accused players from accountability.

Author Jeff Benedict, an expert on athletes and crime, draws his conclusions from exhaustive research. In addition to his criminal-background checks, the author retrieved documents from law-enforcement agencies, courts, and private attorneys. He conducted more than 400 interviews with police officers, prosecutors, defense lawyers, players, agents, victims, witnesses, and coaches. What emerges is a disturbing and appalling picture of men who live above the law.

A seminal and important work, Out of Bounds will forever change how we look at the NBA and its stars' lives of excess and privilege.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In what is bound to be one of the more controversial sports books of this year, Benedict (Pros and Cons: The Criminals Who Play in the NFL) applies his superb investigative reporting skills to the "dark, sinister side" of dozens of NBA players, painstakingly detailing criminal behavior ranging from drug abuse and domestic violence to armed robbery and rape. Using criminal background checks on nearly 200 NBA players; thousands of pages of trial transcripts and other legal documents; and more than 400 interviews with police officers, attorneys, players, victims and witnesses, Benedict tells hard stories, some well known and others discussed in depth for the first time here. Benedict also has no fear of naming some big names—including all-stars Patrick Ewing, Gary Payton, Glenn Robinson and Damon Stoudamire—to detail what he calls "the rash of lawlessness that is currently gripping the NBA." Benedict exposes how life as a touring player in the NBA offers vast amounts of free time and sex, encouraging criminal behavior and leading to a warped perception of women and their availability, as well as producing an environment "hot-wired" to produce incidents of sexual assault. He explains how the "see-no-evil approach" of NBA teams and their armies of lawyers fosters the perception in players that they are above the law, leading to outrageous behavior toward law-enforcement officials. As well, he explores the role that agents play in keeping criminally accused players from accountability. This is an excellent book that proves its point that life in the NBA is "out of control and absolutely demands close scrutiny."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Jeff Benedict conducted the first national study on sexual assault and athletes. He has published three books on athletes and crime, including a blistering expos#233; on the NFL, Pros and Cons: The Criminals Who Play in the NFL, and Public Heroes, Private Felons: Athletes and Crimes Against Women. He is a lawyer and an investigative journalist who has written five books. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• ISBN-10: 0060726024
• ASIN: B00076F0DY
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,541,831 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jeff Benedict published his first book - Public Heroes, Private Felons: Athletes and Crimes Against Women - during his first year of law school in 1997. At the time he was interning in the District Attorney's Child Abuse Unit in Boston and planning on becoming a prosecutor. By the time he earned his law degree in 2000, he had published three more books: Pros and Cons: The Criminals Who Play in the NFL (Warner Books, 1998); Athletes and Acquaintance Rape (Sage Publications, 1998); and Without Reservation: How a Controversial Indian Tribe Rose to Power and Built the World's Largest Casino (HarperCollins, 2000). By then he'd decided to be a writer instead of a lawyer.

His books on athletes and crime established him as the national expert on the subject. Plus, he was the lead researcher on two groundbreaking studies conducted at Northeastern University - one on student-athletes and violence against women and one on arrest and conviction rates for athletes. In addition to being a regular analyst on network and cable news programs, Benedict served as an expert witness on behalf of rape and domestic violence victims; consulted for law firms representing victims of violence committed by athletes; and frequently appeared as a keynote speaker for women's groups, victim advocacy organizations and law enforcement conferences.

But his revelatory book on the world's largest Indian casino took him in another direction. Without Reservation questioned the legitimacy of the country's most powerful Indian tribe, prompting calls for a Congressional investigation and contributing to the defeat of a 20-year member of Congress that had helped the tribe obtain federal recognition. Benedict's book became the subject of a 60 Minutes segment and the author went on to run for Congress in the district where the tribe and its casino - Foxwoods - are located. His platform was built on reigning in the casino industry. Talk about controversy! Despite earning the support of the Wall Street Journal, Benedict fell short of capturing the Democratic nomination.

But he didn't mind. He just forged ahead and formed the nation's first statewide non-profit corporation dedicated to stopping casino expansion. As president of The Connecticut Alliance Against Casino Expansion, he partnered with Connecticut's Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and led the lobbying effort to pass landmark legislation outlawing new casinos in Connecticut. In 2004 Benedict testified against Donald Trump and other casino moguls before the House Committee on Government Reform as part a congressional investigation into the undue influence of money and lobbyists on the tribal recognition process.

At the same time, Benedict kept writing. In 2005 he conducted a six-month investigation into the negative social and economic impacts of Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods - currently the two largest casinos in the world - and published his findings in a 2-part series in the Hartford Courant: Raw Deal and Losing Hand. He also testified before the Massachusetts legislature and the Philadelphia City Council in opposition to proposals to embrace casino gambling as an economic stimulus. He served as an advisor to municipalities and grassroots organizations throughout the country. The press dubbed him 'Consultant to the Stars' after he was hired to help David Crosby, Bo Derek, Elton John's longtime songwriter Bernie Taupin and others oppose plans to expand the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, California. He and Crosby also lobbied the U.S. Senate's Indian Affairs Committee.

Benedict has written five other highly acclaimed books on a wide range of topics. His book No Bone Unturned: The Adventures of a Top Smithsonian Forensic Scientist and the Legal Battle for America's Oldest Skeletons (HarperCollins, 2003) was the basis of a Discovery Channel documentary and was the subject of ABC News 20/20 segment. On the heels of Kobe Bryant's arrest on rape charges in Colorado, Benedict published Out of Bounds: Inside the NBA's Culture of Rape, Violence & Crime (HarperCollins, 2004), which was the basis of a 2-part special on ABC News 20/20 also titled 'Out of Bounds.' During pre-trial proceedings in the Kobe Bryant case, Benedict got access to sealed court documents and medical records that became the basis of three stories he wrote about the case for Sports Illustrated. After Bryant's case was dismissed, Benedict wrote a short series on Bryant for the Los Angeles Times, including an award-winning feature story that revealed why the case against Bryant fell apart.

In 2007 Benedict published The Mormon Way of Doing Business: How Eight Western Boys Reached the Top of Corporate America (Warner Business Books). It was based on interviews with the CEOs at JetBlue, Madison Square Garden, Dell, and Deloitte & Touche, along with the CFO of American Express and the dean of Harvard Business School. Benedict also wrote and co-produced his first television documentary based on the book. It aired on BYU-TV and on the PBS and CBS affiliates in Utah. He filmed commercials with Glenn Beck to promote the short film. After the release of the book and the film, Benedict teamed up with the executive he had profiled for a series of forums at Yale, Harvard, Wharton, Columbia, and Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Business.

The following year Benedict was commissioned to write a book on a company that Warren Buffett purchased for $200 million. A few years later it was worth over $1 billion. How to Build a Business Warren Buffett Would Buy: The RC Willey Story (Shadow Mountain) was released in 2009. Buffett wrote the book's foreword. Also in 2009, Benedict released Little Pink House: A True Story of Defiance and Courage (Grand Central Publishing). He spent three years chronicling the eminent domain battle in Kelo v. New London, considered the most controversial Supreme Court decision since Roe v. Wade. The book received universal praise: "a fascinating narrative" (New York Times Book Review); "an absorbing read" (Wall Street Journal); and "a mind-blowing story" (NPR's Diane Rehm). Following the book's release, Benedict spent a year traveling the country with plaintiff Susette Kelo, talking to Americans about property rights.

Today Benedict is a regular contributor for SI.com and a Distinguished Professor of English at Southern Virginia University, where he teaches a seminar called Writing and Mass Media, along with a course on current affairs. He is a frequent public speaker on athletes and crime, Indian gaming, eminent domain, and leadership and ethics in business. His forthcoming book chronicles the making of the world's #1 foodborne illness lawyer Bill Marler, who rose to prominence while representing children poisoned in America's largest E. coli outbreak. Benedict has begun working on a new book that he's been privately commissioned to write about an Islamic fundamentalist who converts to Christianity and is imprisoned as an infidel.
Jeff Benedict was born in 1966 in New London, Connecticut. He has a Bachelor's in History from Eastern Connecticut State University, a Master's in Political Science from Northeastern University, and a J.D. from the New England School of Law. He previously practiced law in Connecticut, where he has spent most of his life. He currently lives in Virginia on a Civil War-era farm with his wife and best friend Lydia Benedict and their four children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Obviously Well Researched, But Missing Something, June 30, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Out of Bounds: Inside the NBA's Culture of Rape, Violence, and Crime (Hardcover)

While Out of Bounds is a well-researched book, the author (Jeff Benedict) succumbs to the flaw in logic known as the overextended generalization. The book's overall premise -- that NBA players as a whole are a bad brood -- is not supported by the information presented. There are some -- and I repeat, some -- compelling stories of crime and decadence in the book. (Examples: the Ruben Patterson and Atlanta Gold Club stories.) But this does not add up to a basis for castigating the NBA as a whole.

Some of the incidents that Benedict describes are not worth the effort spent to discuss them. Example: the incident in Portland where Scottie Pippen threw water in an obnoxious fan's face. So what? This incident does not prove Benedict's premise, yet it was one of the first incidents discussed in the book.

The author also takes aim at lawyers (and agents) who represented players in the incidents discussed in the book. But Benedict himself is a lawyer, and he knows full well that lawyers are responsible under the law to zealously represent their clients. Benedict seems disturbed that NBA players can buy high quality legal advice. Well, again, so what? High profile businesspeople do the same. Martha Stewart, Dennis Kozlowski, and Frank Quattrone all come to mind. Why aren't NBA stars entitled to obtain the same high quality legal advice?

Overall, Out of Bounds weaves together some interesting and disturbing stories. But those stories do not add up to the support needed to prove Benedict's larger premise.

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Rushed to publication, July 13, 2004

By 

Robert M. Logan (Folsom, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Out of Bounds: Inside the NBA's Culture of Rape, Violence, and Crime (Hardcover)

Author Jeff Benedict has written three other books about the bad behavior of athletes, giving him a unique perspective. With the criminal trial for sexual assault against Kobe Bryant expected to proceed later this summer (2004), Out of Bounds is timely. Unfortunately, Benedict's effort to be timely (write and research the book in less than six months wherein "missing a deadline was not an option") was not without cost. The book is sloppily proofread - "Stockhouse" on page 17, "an (sic) famous athlete's bed" on page 58 are a couple examples.

Benedict asserts that 40% of the 177 players researched from the 2001-2002 NBA roster "had been arrested or otherwise recommended by police to prosecuting attorneys for indictment for serious crime." Truly a startling statistic! Unfortunately, about half of the book is devoted to just three players - Ruben Patterson, Sam Mack and Glen Robinson. (Shaquille O'Neal is given about a half dozen pages in the introduction.) Although nearly 70 players would have been identified as "out of bounds" during Benedict's research, a quick count turns up about 20 names of NBA players in the book. Undoubtedly, other players are named, but it would take a very careful line by line review of the book to determine who they are as Benedict does not include an index of the players he mentions.

Out of Bounds attempts to detail a truly disturbing trend in the NBA. As lightly written as it is, the collection of bad incidents should be required reading for every NBA owner, league official and employee.

Is the bad behavior more prevalent now or is it less ignored? That question remains unanswered.

Sadly, little ink is devoted to solutions and policy suggestions - certainly if Benedict did not have the time to develop his own suggestions he could have found a myriad of NBA officials, owners, coaches, current and former players or even fans to interview.

Out of Bounds is disappointing in that it could have been so much better. It reads more a like commercial deadline driven book than one where the author is concerned with the depth and quality of his work. It is unfortunate. Benedict has the credentials to have done so much better.

Just my opinion . . . .

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Research, Good Writing., December 2, 2004

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Out of Bounds: Inside the NBA's Culture of Rape, Violence, and Crime (Hardcover)

I find myself reading this book with mixed feelings. I give it a high rating for research and for writing. But then I find myself saying, who cares.

There was an incident where an underage girl (and in her pictures she didn't look underaged at all, more like a hooker) at a local mall approached a pro basketabll player and soon went up to his hotel room. Later on she cried rape. As Mr. Benedict says, there's a thin line between consensual sex and rape.

You take someone who comes from the wrong side of the tracks, you give him fame and a few million dollars, do you really expect someone you'd want to take home to mother and dad. These athletes aren't being selected for their social graces, they're being selected for basketball proficiency. I think that the book really explains what you'd expect to find.

Finally, why select the NBA? I remember when it seemed that Dallas wouldn't be able to field a Cowboys team because so many team members were in jail. And so far as I know, the NBA players haven't bitten off any ears. And as for rock stars....