Former NBA star Delonte West arrested a year after Mark Cuban ‘saved him’ when panhandling photo went viral
Delonte West is taken into custody after being found drunkenly banging on the doors of a Florida police station
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Former NBA star Delonte West has been arrested one year after a photo of him panhandling on the street went viral and billionaire Mark Cuban helped check him in to a drug rehabilitation facility.
Mr West was taken into custody on Tuesday night, after officers found him drunkenly banging on the lobby doors of a police station in Boynton Beach, Florida, authorities said.
The retired basketball player, who has struggled with bipolar disorder, substance abuse and homelessness for years, was carrying an open bottle of mango vodka and an open can of Icehouse beer, according to a police report.
He complied when asked to put down the alcohol containers but then reached into his pants, prompting officers to sweep in and place him in handcuffs.
Mr West “continued to be belligerent and screaming profanities and obscure rants” as he was taken into custody, the report states.
He was booked on charges of resisting an officer without violence, disorderly intoxication and having an open container. He was released on bail early Wednesday, jail records show.
The incident came just over a year after West was photographed panhandling on the side of a Dallas highway.
The image drew the attention of Mr Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, who was filmed picking West up at a gas station days later.
Mr Cuban reportedly took Mr West to a rehabilitation centre in Florida and paid for his treatment.
In January, The Athletic reported that Mr West had taken employment at the same facility.
Mr West was selected by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA draft in 2004. He played eight seasons as a guard for the Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers before quietly ending his career in 2015.