D.C. police arrest CBS sports commentator Greg Anthony in prostitution sting
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Version 0 of 1. CBS sports commentator Greg Anthony, a former NBA player, was arrested Friday and charged with soliciting a prostitute during an undercover sting operation, D.C. police said. Anthony, 47, a father of four, was arrested in a room at the Doubletree Hotel on Rhode Island Avenue NW, not far from the White House, about 5:46 p.m., according to Officer Hugh Carew, a police spokesman. Others were also arrested in the investigation, Carew added, but he did not say how many people were detained. A police report said that Anthony used a computer as part of the alleged solicitation. Anthony apologized in a statement he released Saturday. “I made a mistake,” he said, according to the Associated Press. “With this lapse of judgment, I embarrassed many, including myself. I will work to regain the trust that I have lost, and the first step is saying that I am sorry.” Anthony rose to prominence as an athlete as a point guard at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, helping the team win a national championship in 1990. He later played in the NBA for 12 years for the New York Knicks, the Portland Trail Blazers and teams in Vancouver, Seattle, Milwaukee and Chicago. A Republican, he aspired to be the first black U.S. senator from Nevada but chose a post-NBA career as a sports analyst specializing in college basketball. He is vice chair for the Young Republications in Nevada, according to his biography on CBS Sports’s web page. Anthony supported Barack Obama for president in 2008, but publicly endorsed GOP challenger Mitt Romney in a 2012 campaign ad. Anthony’s ex-wife is novelist and former entertainment lawyer Crystal McCrary Anthony, who co-wrote “Homecourt Advantage,” about the lives of NBA wives. His wife, Chere, is a dermatologist in Florida. Anthony was released from police custody on Friday, Carew said. He will be arraigned in court for the misdemeanor charge Feb. 3. The maximum penalty, if convicted, is 180 days in jail. Anthony was in the Washington area to announce the University of Maryland-Michigan State game Saturday afternoon in College Park for CBS Sports, where he has worked since 2008. CBS News released a statement saying Anthony has been suspended indefinitely and will not be working for CBS this season. Anthony has also been a game analyst for CBS and Turner Sports’ coverage of the NCAA Tournament, and, since 2010, for NBA TV, which is jointly managed by the league and Turner Sports. “Greg Anthony has been suspended indefinitely, and we will have no further comment at this time,” a Turner Sports spokesman said in a statement. A manager at the Doubletree Hotel on Rhode Island Avenue on Saturday said he was not aware of the solicitation sting operation and had no comment. Dan Steinberg contributed to this report. |