Say It Ain't So, Calvin
KHOU-11 is reporting some distressing news about an iconic Houston sports figure tonight:
Former Houston Rockets star Calvin Murphy was charged Monday with three counts of aggravated sexual assault and three counts of indecency with a child, all allegations that involve his children, prosecutors said.I've always liked Calvin Murphy, although as a transplant to Houston I know him better from his work as a Rockets commentator than as a player. I hope this is all some sort of misunderstanding.Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal said his office has notified other jurisdictions about the charges as an investigation into Murphy continues.
"He has a number of families around the country, according to our research," Rosenthal said.
11 News has learned that allegations are also being investigated in Fort Bend County and Connecticutt.
Murphy’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Murphy, a television analyst for the Houston Rockets, was a star guard for the franchise from 1970 to 1983. The Hall of Fame sharpshooter, who at 5-foot-9 was known as the "Pocket Rocket," shot 89 percent on his free throws during his career and averaged 18 points a game.
The Rockets said in a statement that Murphy asked for and received a leave of absence from his broadcasting duties.
The alleged indecency occurred in Harris County over a period of several years, Rosenthal said. The charges involved children under 17 and the alleged conduct occurred between May 1988 and April 1991, according to the Harris County district clerk’s office.
More coverage from KPRC-2, ABC-13, and the Comical.
(Update) Richard Justice says it's too soon to judge Murphy. Yes and no. There's SOME reason prosecutors think he did what is alleged, but no, he has not yet been found guilty. Still, from their dreadful coverage of the Enron scandal, you can't help but think there are some people at the Comical who would STILL write a column about not judging Enron just yet.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/29/04 18:24 | Sports | Technorati
Previous Entry | Home | Next Entry
TrackBack
There are currently no trackbacks for this item.
Incoming trackback pings have been disabled because of abusive spammers. Technorati is now used to track cross-blog conversation.
Comments
Kevin,
I wouldn't be as quick to assert there is "some reason" for the prosecutors to do what they did. True, I doubt they made charges up out of whole cloth, but on the other hand, it's a basic fact of the criminal justice system that, if I'm a prosecutor, I can get my pencil indicted if I want to.
Posted by TP @ 09:28 on 03/30/04
I guess I wonder why they would want to. Murphy's a well-regarded, high-profile figure in Houston. If it's clearly a case of these women trying to extort him (as Rusty Hardin has alleged) by lying and this comes out in court, won't the DA's office suffer an awful backlash? Why risk it if there's not some reason to think he's guilty? On the other hand, why not a grand jury inquiry?
Any thoughts?
Posted by Kevin @ 10:34 on 03/30/04
It will be interesting to see if anyone else comes forward with more Calvin stories.
They are out there. Just a matter of people deciding if it is worth it to keep protecting him or to come clean.
Posted by Laurence Simon @ 11:46 on 03/30/04
Oh, I didn't mean to suggest otherwise. This is obviously a high-stakes case, win or lose, and the very fact that it is high-stakes is a reason to make sure there is a good basis for bringing charges b4 they are brought.
But that is always offset by the glory-seeking factor always present in such high-stakes cases.
I don't think they would risk it if they didn't think they could get a conviction, true. I guess all I meant to say is that often times, people read far too much into the mere fact of indictments than they should. That may not apply to this case in particular.
Posted by TP @ 15:14 on 03/30/04
I'll have to see how this all will play out before I make final judgment. However, for ALL the daughters to make these accusations does not look good for Calvin. For a whole family to turn aginst their father is pretty serious. If it was one family menber bringing the charges and everyone else sticking up for their Dad then I would be more inclined to believe the Father. I'm always disapointed whenever I hear news like this. There is never a happy ending
Posted by Klesher @ 16:51 on 03/30/04
The DA doesn't really have anything to lose. What with the crime lab problems and their atrocious performance in the Laurence case, they are a joke any way.
Posted by Gary C. @ 18:04 on 03/30/04
Add Comments
While it is not required, creating an account for commenting provides a number of benefits (such as comment editing and bypassing the captcha challenge). You may log in to your account here.
No flames or impolite behavior. Any questions, see the site policies. Older posts are moderated (because of spammers), so if your post does not appear immediately, that could be why.
HTML will be stripped. URLs will be transformed into hyperlinks.
[b]text[/b] will produce bold text. [i]text[/i] will produce italicized text.
Comments for this post must be approved before being published. Thank you!
BLOG
» Create Account
» Log In
DISCLAIMER
Content and design copyright © 1997-2008, Kevin Whited.
Posts represent the views of Kevin Whited (and occasional guest bloggers) only, and do not necessarily reflect the views of employers, family, friends, or significant others.