NBA free agent Iman Shumpert showed that life could imitate art as he was arrested at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport after being caught with six ounces in his bag by TSA. Additionally, he was carrying a Glock magazine and fourteen 9-millimeter rounds; however, he did not have a weapon.
On Saturday, the baller-turned-actor got jammed when attempting to make his 3 p.m. flight from Dallas to Los Angeles. At around 2:40 pm, he was stopped by security when they observed a bag filled with a “green leafy substance.” Shumpert admitted the substance was cannabis and was arrested and taken to the airport jail. The 32-year-old was eventually charged with felony cannabis possession for the 6.12 ounces he was carrying.
NBA player Iman Shumpert was arrested after TSA found over 6 ounces of weed in his backpack at a Dallas airport pic.twitter.com/1DQXSn6Gkq
— No Jumper (@nojumper) August 3, 2022
Now he has been charged with a felony and faces up to two years behind bars and a $10,000 fine if he is found guilty.
Shumpert reportedly told authorities that he was flying to visit his daughter. Unfortunately, he was placed in handcuffs instead. Ironically, his actions align with his on-screen persona in the popular drama series “The Chi.”
The Chicagoland, Illinois, native plays “Rob,” a cannabis distributor who links with one of the main characters, “Tiffany,” first as her cannabis supplier and later as her love interest, despite being a married but separated woman.
Shumpert made his debut in the Lena Waithe-created series as Rob in season 4, episode 6, titled “Candyman,” and he was initially apprehensive about the world of acting.
Footage surfaces of Iman Shumpert’s recent arrest. pic.twitter.com/CPS0qkeG7j
— TheShadeRoom (@TheShadeRoom) August 3, 2022
“It’s an opportunity. All my life, I’ve been saying no to stuff. It’s like even when my wife be taking on acting roles like, at first, I was upset about that. I didn’t understand it; I didn’t understand the craft. She had to portray love. :ike if you got to portray love, I’m like, ‘What is that? Why? What are you doing that for?’”
Shumpert’s wife, Teyana Taylor, is an R&B singer and actress who pushed him out of his comfort zone into the role.
“Why are you even asking for that role if you live with me? It wasn’t a jealousy thing. Why are you doing that? I had never dealt with no actress; I’m like I got the money. That’s how I felt, though; that was my mental space about it. So when I got offered the opportunity, I don’t have the NBA job right now; I’m waiting; I might as well try. Then I really was just trying it to try acting on a set. Then they wanted to make me a love interest.”
Shumpert is no stranger to performing on big stages as a ten-year NBA veteran who has played for teams like the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Sacramento Kings, and the Houston Rockets. He most recently played for the Brooklyn Nets in 2019 and 2021 and won a championship in 2016 with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
He also won the 30th season of “Dancing with the Stars” with his professional partner Daniella Karagach, which is outside his comfort zone. However, now Shumpert has to face his next role, which is to make rolling through the airport with over a quarter pound of cannabis and a gun clip with ammo make sense.
