Lockdown to Locked Up: Ex-NBA Player Tony Allen Busted on Drug Charges

Former NBA "lockdown" defender Tony Allen faces new legal issues following his recent arrest for cocaine and marijuana possession.

Allen, a popular Grizzlies player from his days in the league, was detained and held at the Poinsett County Detention Center on Wednesday.

PORTLAND, OR - APRIL 25: Tony Allen #9 of the Memphis Grizzlies clebrates with Zach Randolph #50 of the Memphis Grizzlies during the fourth quarter in Game Three of the Western Conference quarterfinals against the Portland Trail Blazers during the 2015 NBA Playoffs at the Moda Center on April 25, 2015 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)

According to reports, Allen was arrested in Arkansas as a passenger in a vehicle pulled over on Interstate 555 and charged with multiple drug offenses after authorities found him carrying marijuana, the Poinsett County Sheriff’s Department said.

A box with powder later confirmed to be cocaine also put Allen and his friend, 33-year-old William Hatton, who was driving the vehicle, in handcuffs.

Bodycam footage of the arrest, released online, showed the man driving Allen taking full responsibility for the drugs in the vehicle.

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Allen, 43, maintained notoriety in retirement as the host of the online show Out the Mud; notable guests, including Rashad McCants, are famously featured. 

He played for Memphis from 2010 to 2017, spending 14 seasons in the NBA.

While a memorable name for NBA fans, Allen’s recent legal troubles have complicated his post-career reputation, which included his run as a core member of the Grizz alongside Mike Conley Jr. and "Z-Bo" Zach Randolph.

It is not Allen’s first run-in with trouble after his playing days.

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His name surfaced in an investigation into health benefits fraud that resulted in a six-month prison sentence for former NBA player Sebastian Telfair.

MEMPHIS, TN - MAY 3: Tony Allen #9 of the Memphis Grizzlies celebrates while playing the Los Angeles Clippers in Game Six of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2013 NBA Playoffs on May 3, 2013 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)

Telfair also received three years of supervised release in a plea agreement stemming from defrauding the NBA Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan.

Allen avoided jail time and was sentenced to community service after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud in April. 

The scheme, which involved 18 former NBA players, defrauded an estimated $5 million from the league's benefit plan.

Allen paid back the $420,000 obtained in the scam.

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