It has not been a good fortnight for some members of the tennis community and their families as three celebrity arrests were made just one week apart.
First, on Sunday Joakim Noah, the star forward for the Chicago Bulls and son of 1983 Roland Garros champion Yannick Noah, was arrested around 1:50 a.m. in Gainesville, Florida for drinking in public. After police stopped the 23-year-old and took him into custody, a routine search at the police station revealed that Noah also was in possession of marijuana.
After signing a notice to appear before a judge, Noah was released, but could receive a $500 fine and a maximum six-month sentence.
The son of a star athlete, who enjoys his own celebrity status after leading the Florida Gators to back-to-back NCAA titles and being drafted to the professional league, was in Gainesville on vacation, according his father. The Bulls lost their bid to compete in the NBA playoffs, cutting their season short.
His father, Yannick, who was at the French Open to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of his first and only Grand Slam win, was informed of the situation but thought that it was “no big deal.”
“I don’t understand all that fuss for just drinking a beer on the street...He was on holiday and got caught with a drink in his hand, he’s 23, that’s no big deal,” the AP quoted Noah. “He does what he wants. I just told him ‘Do what you want but don't get caught’.”
Just three days later 1977 Australian Open champion and former World No. 4, Roscoe Tanner, was arrested in Knoxville, Tennessee for allegedly bouncing a check in excess of $72,000 he had written for two Toyota Highlander vehicles. The grand theft charge was not his first offense. He had previously been convicted in Florida after writing another bad check, this one for about $39,000, for a boat.
Tanner’s legal problems have been well-documented. His troubles with the law range from reportedly swindling money out of investors for various business ventures, grand theft, and failing to pay child support and alimony. He has served time in jail in two Florida cities, New Jersey, California, Georgia, and overseas in Germany. He was arraigned in a Tennessee court on May 28 but entered no plea. He is due back in court on July 8.
Exactly one week after Noah’s run-in with the law, yet another drug-related arrest was made with a tennis tie. Tatum O’Neal, ex-wife of tennis legend John McEnroe, was busted in a routine drug sweep in New York City.
The 44-year-old Oscar-winning actress, whose drug and alcohol addiction has been well-documented by the media and in her own memoir, was arrested at approximately 7:30 p.m. last Sunday on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, just blocks away from her home, after police say they saw her buying drugs from a homeless dealer.
She was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and could face up to one year in jail.
In an exclusive, The New York Post reported that O’Neal is thankful to the police for stopping her from purchasing the drugs and relapsing from her self-expressed sobriety.
O’Neal is best known for being the youngest ever Academy Award winner for her role in the film “Paper Moon.” Her recent roles included a stint on “Dancing with the Stars” and the FX network’s “Rescue Me.”
She is the daughter of actor Ryan O’Neal and has three children with McEnroe, who won custody of their children in 1996 in part due to O’Neal’s substance abuse problems.
She was arraigned on Monday, entering no plea, and is due back in court on July 28.