One of the more enigmatic personalities we’ve had cross through the NBA, former Houston Rockets star Steve Francis has always had his demons. Coming out of a rough area of Washington D.C., Francis was often exposed to drugs at a young age. Though he insisted he only sold drugs instead of actually consumed them, Francis has had a well-known struggle with alcohol throughout his playing career.
Now ten years removed from his playing career, those difficulties with alcohol seem to be translating directly over into Francis’ retired life. The former point guard was recently arrested in Burbank, California for being publicly intoxicated at a bar according to ESPN:
Former NBA All-Star Steve Francis, who recently wrote an essay about his battles with alcohol abuse in The Players’ Tribune, was arrested for public intoxication in Burbank, California, on Sunday night.
Burbank police said they responded to a report of an unruly patron in a hotel bar. After observing him, they arrested Francis for public intoxication, saying they “determined he was under the influence to an extent that he posed a risk to his own safety and the safety of others.”
Francis was taken to jail and given a citation, then released around 7 a.m. local time Monday morning.
As pointed out, Steve Francis did pen a Players Tribune essay recently documenting his rise to NBA stardom. One of the various things he touched on was his exposure to drugs and his frequent consumption of alcohol, something that is clearly still effecting him to this day.
Though Francis never had to enter an alcohol rehab facility during his playing career, he did so following a separate 2016 arrest but by the looks of things, not much was accomplished. Francis was again put into custody for driving under the influence of alcohol last year and now this run-in with the law only makes things worse.
While it’s clear Francis still has his personal vices that he’s dealing with, drug addiction is a serious mental and physical disease that can alter one’s life in more ways than one. Hopefully, Francis can find the help he badly needs before continuing down the dark road of alcohol abuse.
