Former NBA Star Pleads For Pardon From President Trump Just Before Six-Month Prison Sentence Begins
Telfair took the 'it doesn't hurt to ask' approach before serving time.
Former NBA standout Sebastian Telfair has called on President Donald Trump in hopes of receiving a pardon at the buzzer before reporting to prison for a six-month sentence.
Telfair, who played 564 games in the NBA, allegedly failed to fulfill the terms of a plea bargain after being accused of defrauding the NBA's Players Health and Welfare Benefit Plan for a sum of approximately $350,000.
He is set to report to prison on Tuesday, but decided to make a last-second effort to reach the President during an interview with TMZ.
Sebastian Telfair during his time with the Phoenix Suns (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
"Trump, go check in on my story and you’re definitely going to want to pardon me," he said during the interview in New York. "You’ll hold me accountable and want me to continue to go do good, but I did too good to being sending anybody to jail.
Telfair went on to say that the situation was "super unfair" and claimed the issue stemmed from a paperwork mishap. He also explained that he has plans to write a book while serving his time in federal prison.
The 40-year-old is among several former NBA players who were alleged to have tried to cheat the league's health care plan back in 2021. Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis was sentenced to 40 months in prison after being found guilty of committing health care fraud in November 2023. Tony Allen was sentenced to three years of probation and community service with supervision in August 2023 for allegedly defrauding the league's health and welfare benefit plan as well.
Telfair was Mr. Basketball USA in 2004 and was a McDonald's All-American that same year before being drafted 13th overall in the '04 NBA Draft. He played for eight different teams throughout his NBA career having last played for the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2014-15 campaign.