Posted on 08/22/2012 12:55:26 PM PDT by fungoking
Tony Farmer was a blue chip basketball recruit who seemed destined for Division I basketball, but instead the 6-foot-7 high school standout will be spending the next three years in prison.
The Ohio high school star, an 18-year-old senior at Garfield Heights High School, was handed the three-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to kidnapping, felony assault, and other crimes, Yahoo! Sports Blog The Dagger reported.
Tony Farmer’s sentence came as a bit of a surprise to those following the trial. After pleading guilty he had a number of teachers, coaches, and family members testify on his behalf. Even the ex-girlfriend he assaulted, Andrea Lane, asked that Farmer not be sent to prison.
“If you give him a chance, he’s in good hands,” Sonny Johnson, Garfield Heights High School’s varsity basketball coach, told the judge, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Joni Wanderstock, one of Tony Farmer’s teachers, also spoke.
“Instead of his massive height, I see his massive heart,” said Wanderstock, Farmer’s English teacher.
Nearly two dozen of those supporters were on hand for the sentencing, including Lane herself. Farmer was convicted of assaulting her in the parking lot of her apartment complex in Bedford Heights, with much of the incident being caught on tape.
As the judge read the sentence, Tony Farmer collapsed to the ground in anguish, with sheriff’s deputies having to hold him. Even Lane was sobbing in the crowed, The Dagger reported.
“I know he was a good person,” she said, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “I hope he still is.”
Tony Farmer was a consensus top 100 prospect and was being recruited by many successful Division I programs like Ohio State, Xavier, and Michigan State.
Just curious, if these were real legitimate charges, why did the judge only give him 3 years, which probably means less?
How does someone convicted of all these serious crimes only get 3 years?
Something here reeks bad.
Top 100 recruit probably does not = NBA.
Street cred - it’ll add millions to his franchise.
Amazing video. While he didn’t seem to understand the concept of concurrent sentences (in his defense, I understand how they work, but not why they exist), I was impressed that he immediately calculated that 3 years plus 2 years = 5 years. Even more impressive was that he did this without using his fingers, as his hands were cuffed behind him.
Of course if he had said to his lawyer, “I got 6 years?” it would have been much funnier and probably would have been one of the most watched viral videos of the year.
I LOVED when the judge coldly said, “I’m not finished” while this big “tough guy”, who likes to beat on women, was cowering on the floor and sobbing like little girl.
>>>Top 100 recruit probably does not = NBA.<<<
You are absolutely right. With maybe 40 or so rookies making it each season, and many of those being international players, a high school player would probably need to be in the top 20 or 25 to have a better than 50/50 shot at the NBA.
It's generally an extension of mitigation or leniency to the defendent, and not uncommon for a "youthful" offender such as is the case here. The theory is he'll learn his lesson, but still carry convictions for mutliple offenses.
But he’s prolly a lock for the prison team, right?
Another Lawrence Phillips in the making.
Maybe, but there may be some ex-NBA players to compete against.
He’ll probably be out in half the time, some team will pick him up & of course, he’ll write a book. Sadly, bad behavior is rewarded these days.
Raw Video: Ohio basketball star collapses after receiving prison sentence
Today they assault their girlfriends, tomorrow they will assault yours.
Here Obama's son pleads with his ex to please don't leave. . . .
If the MSM can insult us with a picture of a 10-year-old and report that the "little boy" (now a six-foot-plus 17-year-old thug) was stalked and murdered by a white man then touché. Damnit.
He will have plenty of time to perfect his free throw shooting.
The sports casters will love to report every time he comes to the line that his near 100% accuracy comes from total concentration during the continuous practice sessions while in prison where he turned his life around.
just goes to show you,you can take the thug out of the projects;but you can’t take the projects out of the thug
Just another coddled jock who was used to getting away with anything because he was on the team.
They think they can get away with anything because they have had their butt kissed since the started dribbling a basketball
And coming from a no father family have never learned how to interact in a normal man/woman relationship
Sadly, you’re correct about the NBA and the criminal element. I was thinking more along the lines of Farmer missing out on key development time for his physical skills - i.e. he’ll be an out-of-practice high school player when he gets out at 21 or 22 and probably won’t have the same prospects as before. He might still find a college that will take him, but there are probably age limits there as well.
At any rate, whether he’s ended his basketball prospects or not, I’ve got zero sympathy for a woman-beating felon.
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