Eastern Michigan basketball player Emoni Bates was arrested on Sunday according to multiple reports. Bates, the No. 5-ranked high school player in the country in 2021, was near campus when he was pulled over by police. He was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and altering ID marks on a firearm.
Bates’ attorney, Steve Haney, spoke to ESPN and said to “reserve judgment.”
“Reserve judgment on this. There’s way more to the story. He borrowed someone’s car, was pulled over and a gun was located in the car.”
Spoke to Steve Haney, lawyer for Emoni Bates. He told ESPN that Bates arrest last night came after a routine traffic stop when he was driving a borrowed car that had a gun in.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 19, 2022
Haney told ESPN: “Reserve judgement on this. There’s way more to the story. He borrowed someone’s car, was pulled over and a gun was located in the car.”
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 19, 2022
Eastern Michigan has suspended Bates until the legal process is resolved.
“We are aware of a situation involving men’s basketball student-athlete Emoni Bates,” the school said in a statement Monday morning. “Eastern Michigan University takes all allegations of this nature very seriously. Per department policy, he has been suspended automatically from practice and playing privileges until the legal process is resolved.”
“Because this is an ongoing legal matter, the University will have no further comment at this time.”
This is a problem for Bates who was expected to be a big-time player for Eastern Michigan this season. A year ago the forward seemed destined for superstardom. He was called “Baby Kevin Durant” when he was a sophomore in high school and won Gatorade National Player of the Year. The first sophomore to win the prestigious award. He transferred to a prep academy started by his father for his final year of high school, which was technically only his junior year.
You Heard It Here First: Gatorade POY Emoni Bates Is LeBron James Special
Bates committed to Michigan State to play college ball, only to decommit and reopen his recruitment. He eventually chose the University of Memphis to play under coach Penny Hardaway and with his friend Jalen Duren. After an underwhelming season where he only started 13 games, Bates transferred to Eastern Michigan this summer.
Now his future is in question.
If Bates’ attorney is correct and the car wasn’t Bates but someone else’s and the gun isn’t his, he’ll have the traffic violation to deal with and not much else.
According to Haney, Bates was arraigned on Monday and the judge agreed to a non-monetary personal recognizance bond for Bates to be immediately released from jail. Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf.
His next scheduled court date is Oct. 6.
Regardless of the outcome this is a situation that could’ve ended far worse for Bates. What if the police during the traffic stop were aggressive and decided to rough him up or worse?
Bates at 18 is far from a finished product both on and off the floor. This incident shows at best that he makes poor choices. Is there a correlation between this and his entire prep career where he bounced between schools and committed and then decommitted and now has transferred all in the span of three years?
Perhaps.
Turning into a viral YouTube star and being called a “baby Kevin Durant” is a lot for anyone to handle. Much less a teenager. If he’s able to get past this situation with no issues, maybe being close to home and at a smaller program will give him the environment he needs to develop into the person and player he wants to become.
https://youtu.be/e7ayTLCbR0o
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