Delonte West checked into a rehab treatment facility last year amid his struggles with mental health and substance abuse. Unfortunately, it sounds like the former NBA star has not remained on the right path.
According to an incident report obtained by Scott Sutton of WPTV, West was arrested in Boynton Beach, Fla., on Tuesday night following an encounter with police. Officers responded after West went to the Boynton Beach Police Department building and began yelling and banging on the glass doors. He was said to be screaming while holding an open can of beer and open bottle of vodka.
Police say West began to walk away while still screaming, at which point they told him to stop and place the open containers of alcohol on the sidewalk. West complied with the demands, but he placed his hands inside his west band right after. That led to one of the officers unholstering his Taser before West complied and was handcuffed.
West was belligerent and “screaming profanities and obscure rants” after he was detained, according to the report. Police say they suspected he was intoxicated. West was charged with resisting an officer without violence, disorderly intoxication and having an open container.
The arrest will come as a disappointment to those who have followed West over the past year. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who has a close relationship with West from when the former point guard played for the team, helped locate West in September 2020 after he was spotted panhandling in the Dallas area. Cuban helped set West up with a rehab treatment program, and West was said to be doing well as of earlier this year.
West has struggled with mental health and substance abuse issues since he last played in the NBA several years ago. In 2019, he refused to accept help after a video showed him fighting someone in the middle of the freeway. Here’s hoping he can somehow get back on the right track.
