Ex-NBA player asks Trump for pardon
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Former NBA star Sebastian Telfair expressed hope that President Donald Trump would pardon him as he’s set to report to prison on Tuesday for violating the terms of his release.
Telfair was among the former NBA players caught up in a healthcare fraud scandal. He was given a suspended sentence for his role in the fraud.
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Minnesota Timberwolves guard Sebastian Telfair, #3, dribbles around Denver Nuggets guard Anthony Carter, #25, during the second half at Target Center in Minneapolis on Feb. 5, 2011. (Jesse Johnson/USA TODAY Sports)
However, Sportico reported in June that Telfair failed to live up to the terms of his conditional supervised release. He didn’t live up to his court-ordered community service and didn’t report to the U.S. Probation Office and is now set to spend six months in prison over it.
He told TMZ Sports this week that the situation was “definitely some bulls—.”
“Trump, go check in on my story, and you’re definitely going to want to pardon me. You’ll hold me accountable and want me to continue to go do good. But I did too good to being sending anybody to jail,” he told TMZ Sports.
Telfair claimed the whole issue stemmed from a problem with paperwork and that it was “super unfair.”
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Phoenix Suns guard Sebastian Telfair, #31, reacts on the court during the game against the Memphis Grizzlies in the second half at US Airways Center in Phoenix on Jan. 6, 2013. (Jennifer Stewart/USA TODAY Sports)
He said if Trump doesn’t come through for him then he will be in jail trying to improve himself.
Telfair was among 18 former NBA players who were charged in October 2021 with pocketing about $2.5 million by defrauding the NBA’s health and welfare benefit plan with a scam that involved fake medical and dental expenses.
NBA champion Glen “Big Baby” Davis was given a 40-month sentence in May 2024.
Telfair reached a plea deal in the case, with prosecutors recommending that he serve between 15 and 21 months, according to Sportico. He was sentenced to time served and three years of a supervised release program.
President Donald Trump speaks during a Purple Heart Day event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Telfair was a standout high school player in New York City. The Portland Trail Blazers selected him in the first round of the 2004 NBA Draft. He played with eight teams over his 10-year career.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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