A Kick Streamer Gifted a Newly Sober Delonte West a $100K Maserati and a Whole Bunch of Cash
Delonte West. He never slept with LeBron's mom. It was a nasty, nasty rumor. The story was garbage, rubbish, and not true. Unless of course they're lying about it. Which I suppose is also possible. Personally, if I had been fucked by Delonte West, I would lie about it too.
I had forgotten how that rumor even started. I think it all came from one guy who ran a sports blog under the pseudonym "Perez Owens". He claimed he heard the rumor from his uncle who was the general contractor at the Cavs stadium. Which is a pretty hilarious genesis of a "story" that spread as far as it did – "Yeah well my uncle works there and he says it DEFINITELY happened."
Anyways... things got a lot worse for Delonte West since the "sex with LeBron's mom" rumor. Lots of drug problems. Lots of mental health issues. But in the last few years there have been some ex-NBA players who have helped (or attempted to help) Delonte West get his life back on track. Nothing seems to have fully stuck quite yet. Which is the nature of the beast. Almost nobody who's been that far down the rabbit hole for that long gets totally clean on the first go. But earlier this month, according to Delonte West, he now has nearly one full year sober.
Which as any person who's dealt with addiction themselves will tell you, is the perfect time to link up with a super rich 22-year old Kick streamer who gives you a whole bunch of cash and a $100,000 sports car.
That last paragraph was sarcasm. I'm fairly certain this is the opposite of what they teach in rehab. Maybe that's not 100% true… because in a perfect world, a sober Delonte West could theoretically make $50k go a long way. It's not like rehab tells you to stay broke forever. But is it too cynical of me to feel more scared for Delonte West than anything when I watch those videos?
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Nobody in Delonte West's current position needs a Maserati. Thinking as a drug guy, it's the easiest negation with yourself in the world to sell that brand new sports car for a whole bunch of money and buy a perfectly fine Toyota Camry. Then you have a functioning car AND more cash. And getting that much cash that quickly while you're a year into getting sober is always dangerous to a degree.
Maybe that's a shitty way to look at it. I couldn't tell you if that Neon guy's heart is in the right place, or if he's seen how much reported "success" Adrian Broner (an ex-boxer who was in a similar-ish situation to Delonte West) has had in the IRL streaming world and thought he'd get in on the grift.
It's hard to not draw some parallels and think about all the different ways this could play out for Delonte West.
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I hope the man is doing well. I hope he has more sense, or at least has a couple good people around him to prevent him from getting involved with anyone who doesn't have his best interest at heart. Maybe that Neon guy really does care about Delonte West getting healthy, and is perfectly happy getting his clicks by helping an ex-athlete get sober. As opposed to the WAY more clicks a person can get by following around an ex-athlete who's going off the rails. I have a feeling we'll find out soon enough.