When I first saw the words “Zach Randolph arrested for weed” roll across the ticker at the bottom of the screen I thought I was still asleep It couldn’t have said what I thought it said. A stiff cup o’ coffee and a bagel later, I sat in front of the TV with a more nourished, concentrated eye and, sure enough, the headline ran across the ticker yet again.
SportsCenter on Twitter
Zach Randolph was arrested in Los Angeles Wednesday on a felony charge of marijuana possession with intent to sell. https://t.co/htkvPMHVsd
The baffling part isn’t that an active NBA player would be caught with weed nor is it that an NBA player would sell marijuana. The baffling part is that it’s Zach Randolph. Zach, Z-Bo as he’s affectionately referred to by some, has always been a lunch pail guy who related to the blue collar attributes of whatever municipality he played in.
Whether with the Portland Trailblazers, New York Knicks or the Memphis Grizzlies, he was always the favorite of the working man for the way he battled on the boards, consistently dropped 15 points and 8 rebounds throughout his career, and the manner in which he would donate his time and energy for causes dear to his heart.
According to reports, Zach was arrested in Los Angeles on Wednesday night in a fracas that required arresting officers to call for backup after a crowd became unruly when Randolph and two other individuals were arrested. Police say they saw three individuals clutching their waistbands and leaving the scene thus they pursued them.
Randolph was arrested on possession of marijuana with intent to sell. The social media driven sports shows made Randolph’s situation a hot topic of the morning.
First Take on Twitter
Wait before you puff puff and pass!” -@stephenasmith on Zach Randolph https://t.co/duzyfVQifJ
Now, we all know that Zach’s money is way too long for him to be selling weed and make a profit. It’s far more likely that the ‘intent to sell’ addendum was due to the large amount of weed found at the scene. After the arrests, TMZ reports that six police cars were vandalized, forcing cops to form a battleline to disperse the crowd.
Police recovered two guns, marijuana, a large amount of cash and impounded two cars. It’s not clear whether or not any of the vehicles or guns belonged to Zach Randolph. We’ll keep you posted.
