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‘Kandiman’ slam cleared; case still going to DA
by Jerry Roberts
Michael Olowokandi pulled off his first double-double of the young NBA season over the weekend with 12 points and 11 rebounds Sunday night to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 103-72 victory over the Indiana Pacers. But the triple-felony allegations that he accrued early the morning before the game might be the statistics that severely impact his season even after the woman who brought them rescinded them on Monday in a follow-up interview with Manhatttan Beach police.
Olowokandi was accused of cohabitant abuse, robbery and false imprisonment. But he remains free on $50,000 bail and police are continuing the investigation. A three-sentence, police-written press release issued Sunday said that Olowokandi, 26, was arrested about 3:10 a.m. Saturday. Police responded to a domestic dispute at the 7-foot, 265-pound player’s Manhattan Beach home after he and the Clippers had returned to Los Angeles from a game in Denver against the Nuggets.
The player’s agent, Bill Duffy, issued a statement Monday through the Clippers that said, "It was the intention of this individual to bring harm to Mr. Olowokandi and willfully created the accusation [sic]. This is an incident involving an emotional reaction to a strained relationship. As cooler heads have prevailed, the accuser has expressed sincere regret in making these false accusations. Mr. Olowokandi regrets that his name has become a public issue and is prepared to defend himself and his name."
Manhattan Beach police said that detectives will follow through with the investigation in their traditional manner and turn all the evidence over to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office to determine if any charges should be filed. Police have not released the name of the woman involved or any details of the investigation.
Olowokandi, the first overall pick in the 1998 National Basketball Association draft by the Clippers, sat stoically at his locker at the Staples Center after the game Sunday and patiently answered reporters' questions -- about the game. He refused to talk about his arrest.
"First of all, I'd like to go on record as saying domestic abuse isn't something I make light of," Olowokandi said. "It's something I've never ever participated in. And I think, at the moment, whatever print might be out there might be a little bit out of proportion. And I think, in due time, the truth will come out. That's a very private matter, and I think in due time, we will find out that what has indeed been printed or been alleged did not happen. There are numerous witnesses who were there when this happened, and it is not at all what it seems like," Olowokandi told the Associated Press.
Manhattan Beach Police Chief Ernie Klevesahl said that occasionally press releases will pre-date the official police report. Olowokandi has lived in Manhattan Beach for several years.
The arrest came a day after Clippers forward Lamar Odom returned to the team after being suspended for breaking the NBA’s drug-abuse policy for the second time. The Clippers said they have no plans to discipline Olowokandi, and he played Tuesday night against the Miami Heat.
Olowokandi, who didn’t play basketball until he was 17 years old, mostly hasn’t lived up to No. 1 draft-pick potential. In his first two years with the Clippers, he averaged 9.3 points per game and 8.2 rebounds. The main criticism is that he hasn’t been aggressive enough. However, this year he came to training camp more bulked up than in the past two years and impressed Coach Alvin Gentry with his more tenacious play. His defense has improved and Sunday night he blocked five Pacers shots.
The 7-foot, 265-pound center had averaged 22.2 points and 11.2 rebounds at Pacific University. In one of the more unusual professional sports players’ back-stories, Olowokandi first picked up a basketball at 17 when he was fooling around with friends at a sports facility in England. He started dribbling the ball and began realizing his aptitude for hoops in a nation and continent where soccer was king. He was born in Lagos, Nigeria, on April 3, 1975, and grew up in the United Kingdom, where he attended Newlands Manor School in East Sussex and Brunel University in Uxbridge, Middlesex. He rented a few NBA videos, according to writer Chris Correa on www.kandiman.com, the player’s official Internet web site, and they helped him decide that his future was in American basketball.
Olowokandi went to a library and picked up Pederson’s Guide to American Colleges and Universities, opened it at random and landed on the P’s. The first school listed was Pacific University. He called an assistant coach at the school, who put him on hold when Olowokandi told him he was seven feet tall. The head coach, Ken Schumann, came on the line and, three months of telephone calls later, the Briton was walking the school’s campus in Forest Grove, Ore. Although he had some organized-ball experience in the UK, his career began in earnest for Pacific during the 1995-96 season. ER