The reason why this story caught my attention is because it’s a follow-up to something we covered during the playoffs. If you’ll remember correctly, we posted a video of J.R. Smith flashing the letter “B” after draining three-pointers against the Lakers in the playoffs. I thought J.R. Smith was flashing gang signs at the time but I didn’t jump to conclusions. Now, as the Denver Post points out (via the Orlando Sentinel), it appears as if J.R. Smith types in gang-writing:

Several recent posts by Smith on his page — twitter.com/jr_smith1 — are written in a way that is commonly associated with the Bloods street gang.
Words that would have a “C” in them are replaced with “K,” or if a word has both in them, the “C” is removed altogether.
…
On a post Sunday, Smith exclaimed “Vegas here I kome!” Last week he wrote that he “Kant wait to get bak in the swing of things.”

A post last week, upon his release from jail, caused an online debate among Denver Post readers about the topic. Smith, at the time, thanked his fans and wrote, “I just Kame home. . . . I kouldnt have done it with out yall.”

OK, the first time we saw it things were questionable. Now pairing the two items together and I think we’re looking at more than a coincidence. I’m not saying you have to kick the guy out of the league or suspend him, but you know this is the exact kind of article that will make David Stern crap his pants. It also seems like Twitter is getting athletes in trouble more than it’s actually helping them. How long before the leagues ban them all together? As for J.R., I’ve maintained for quite some time that he’s a flake. His actions (regardless of whether or not he’s a member) confirm that.

J.R. Smith went off in Game 4 for the Nuggets draining 4 three-pointers including back-to-back threes that solidified the win with under two minutes to go. Already with a technical earlier in the game and one in Game 3 for taunting after making a three, Smith started acting out to celebrate his hot shooting streak. The result was the following video presented by Black Sports Online where it appears as if Smith may be flashing gang signs:

OK, so you’ve seen the video, now I leave it up to you: did he flash signs (perhaps a “b” for bloods) or the number three to indicate he just hit a three-pointer? After discussing it with a friend we both thought he was flashing something but several YouTube commenters disagree (maybe they’re just Nuggets homers). The reason why this is significant is because the League might actually want to take a look at the video and see if a fine is necessary. They docked Paul Pierce $25k last year for flashing “menacing” signs at Al Horford in the playoffs. Maybe this will be different because he was just celebrating, not acting out towards any particular individual.

For whatever it’s worth, even Smith acknowledges what a jackass he is:

[Read more...]

This is a horrible twist to the story of the car crash involving Nuggets guard J.R. Smith (pictured) over the weekend. As soon as I heard on Saturday that the passenger had to be airlifted to a hospital, I knew it wasn’t good. And just as I suspected, the news was fatal. 21-year-old Andre Bell died on Monday around 6pm ET from serious head injuries.

Physically, J.R. is said to be doing fine. I can’t imagine how he could be doing mentally, however. That has to be devastating. Most likely on par with what Dany Heatley of the Thrashers experienced, only difference being Heatley and Dan Snyder had been drinking. No word yet on Smith. But we do know that the death could result in more serious charges for Smith:

New Jersey State Police spokesman Sgt. Stephen Jones said Smith could face additional charges, but that would be determined after the state prosecutor gathered and analyzed all information in the case. Part of that information is from a toxicology test, which Jones said was done on Smith at the hospital this past weekend.

“If (Bell’s death) changes anything, it changes the way the prosecutor might look at it,” Jones said. “They are the ones we work with in terms of charges beyond any traffic charges.”

Man, how much does that suck? All the result we presume, of running a stop sign. And it changes your life forever. Another message and reminder to everyone out there to wear your seatbelt — it can change your life. And save it. Neither Smith nor Bell were wearing one, but the third passenger, Carroll Marshall, was buckled up and came away with just back pain. We may not be able to shake tragedies, but we certainly can learn from them. And I hope J.R. has.