Anthony arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence
Associated Press

Updated: April 14, 2008, 4:16 PM ET
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DENVER -- NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony was arrested early Monday morning on suspicion of driving under the influence, hours after his worst game of the season.


Carmelo Anthony

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Denver Nuggets

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2008 Season Stats GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
76 25.8 7.4 3.4 .492 .785

Police said the Denver Nuggets forward was arrested on Interstate 25. He was pulled over for weaving and failing to dim his lights.

Detective Sharon Hahn said Anthony, who was alone in the car, failed a series of sobriety tests. He was ticketed and released at the scene, but Hahn did not know how he got home. Denver police don't jail DUI suspects and Anthony was no exception, Hahn said.

Anthony is due in court May 14.

Mark Warkentien, the Nuggets' vice president of basketball operations, said the team was aware of the situation but declined comment.

Anthony apologized through his attorney, Dan Recht.

"Carmelo apologizes to his fans, the Denver community, his teammates and the Nuggets organization for the distraction this is causing them," Recht said.

He said Anthony consented to a blood test, but results won't be available for about two weeks.

In the meantime, "Carmelo will try to stay focused on his family and his team," Recht said.

The Nuggets are in the middle of a heated playoff race. They moved a half-game ahead of Golden State for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference on Sunday night when they beat Houston 111-94.

But it was Anthony's worst outing of the season. He was held to 11 points on 3-of-14 shooting against a Rockets team that was missing defensive specialist Shane Battier.

Anthony still managed to extend his NBA-best streak of double-digit games to 206.

On Saturday, he committed a flagrant foul against Utah's Deron Williams that changed he course of a close game, and the Jazz ran away with a 124-97 win.

The Nuggets did not practice on Monday and Anthony wasn't available. He's expected back on the court at practice on Tuesday.

The Nuggets (49-32) can clinch their fifth straight postseason berth by beating Memphis at home on Wednesday night or if the Warriors lose at Phoenix on Monday night or against Seattle on Wednesday night.

Despite his poor game Sunday, Anthony has had another stellar season. He was named an All-Star starter for the first time alongside teammate Allen Iverson, and he's fourth in the NBA in scoring (25.8) and is averaging a career-best 7.4 rebounds.

Last season, he was involved in a brawl at Madison Square Garden. After J.R. Smith was collared on his way to a breakaway bucket in the closing minutes of a rout, Anthony, then the league's leading scorer, dropped the New York Knicks' Mardy Collins with a punch that cost him a 15-game suspension.

In February, Anthony was ticketed in Arapahoe County for driving 25 mph over the posted speed limit. A hearing is set for next month in that speeding case.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

wow, an athlete was driving drunk!

How dumb can u get. What's wrong with these guys?

Graycap23 said:

Same thing that's wrong with every other drunk driver.

ArielB said:

No.....these guys can AFFORD limos. Not 2 mention the CONSTANT reminder from the players union about dumb stuff like this.
[Edited 4/14/08 13:55pm]

ArielB said:

I have to interject. They have even LESS of an excuse. Anthony makes enough money to have a driver drive him anywhere he goes at anytime. More so than Joe six pack who makes 150 dollars a week and blows it at the bar. They're both idiots for endangering lives, but Anthony is MORE irresponsible IMO.

JerseyKRS said:

Exactly right. The NBA has several programs designed 2 keep players OUT of these situations.

oh, its suspicion.
Not that he was definitely drunk swerving all over the road.
Just got caught driving well over the speed limit like any typical driver could do, and the officer suspects that he may have been drinking. OH.
Having alcohol in your system and driving while hammered is different no matter how you want to look at it, or exaggerate it. In Chicago I guarantee that half the workers driving around 5-7pm have some level of alcohol in their system. Im certain that goes for pretty much anywhere else.
[Edited 4/14/08 14:01pm]

WHY CAN'T THESE MUTHAFUCKAS GET SOME SENSE ALREADY & HIRE A DRIVER FOR THE NIGHT??? GOOD GOD, WTF??? THEY CAN AFFORD IT, HIRE A DAMN CAR YOU FUCKING TURDS