Then: 2001
The Suns once traded a star away the year he hit his wife
In January 2001, Suns All-Star point guard Jason Kidd was arrested after his wife,
Joumana, told police he struck her during an argument. He pleaded guilty to spousal abuse
and was ordered into anger-management counseling. That same summer, the Suns traded him to the New Jersey
Nets.
The front office framed the move as a basketball decision. But the fact remains: a quarter-century ago,
this franchise moved on from a cornerstone player the year he was convicted of domestic violence.
Today it is trading toward one. Whatever standard the Suns once had, the Bridges trade abandons it.
Sources:
ESPN,
Sportskeeda
Now: still honored
A man credibly accused of abusing a minor is in the Ring of Honor
Suns legend Kevin Johnson — his No. 7 retired, inducted into the franchise's
Ring of Honor in 2001 — was accused by a teenage girl of sexual abuse that, by her
account, began in the mid-1990s while Johnson was a Suns player.
According to reporting by Deadspin, CBS, and others: Phoenix police investigated, no
criminal charges were filed, and Johnson paid the accuser a settlement of roughly
$230,600 that included a confidentiality agreement. In later years, additional women
came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct, and the case was examined in HBO's Real Sports.
Johnson has denied wrongdoing and was never charged or convicted.
He remains in the Suns' Ring of Honor to this day. A franchise comfortable honoring him is a franchise
that has already shown it can look the other way. Fans are entitled to ask it to stop.
Sources:
Deadspin,
CBS Sacramento,
HBO Real Sports (via Governing)