HoopsHype.com Rumors

Former UCLA basketball player Reeves Nelson filed a $10-million defamation lawsuit against Sports Illustrated on Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. The lawsuit stems from an article ("Special Report: Not the UCLA Way") published in March in which Nelson was portrayed as a bully who mistreated former Bruins teammates. Los Angeles Times

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The lawsuit contains sworn declarations from 18 former UCLA teammates, including several who were cast in the Sports Illustrated article as victims of Nelson's alleged bullying. Los Angeles Times

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After leaving UCLA, Nelson played professional basketball in Lithuania. He is now preparing for the NBA draft. Los Angeles Times

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Darnell Mayberry: Kevin Durant on Monday's violence: "Any time violence is involved it's unfortunate. But the only thing I can do is pray for the victims." Twitter

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After a shooting in Bricktown marred a big victory for the Thunder Monday night, Oklahoma City's mayor Mick Cornett said the wildly popular "Thunder Alley" has to change. An estimated 10,000 fans gathered outside Chesapeake Energy Arena downtown to watch the game on a big screen to go with 19,000 inside the arena. "The city manager and I spent some time with the chief of police and many members of our security detail (Monday)," said Mayor Cornett to News 9 in OKC. "We came to the conclusion that the manner in which we have known as 'Thunder Alley' has taken place and continued to grow just can't continue." CBSSports.com

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The team issued a statement saying that Thunder Alley will continue, but the watch part on Reno Ave. may not. "We are working with the City and the Police Dept to look at ways to control crowds and ensure safety," said Thunder spokesman Dan Mahoney. "We are strongly considering eliminating the watch party, but Thunder Alley, the pregame party on Reno, will continue as normal." CBSSports.com

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Police have arrested a man in connection with the shooting. Rodney Dewon Hill, 19, was arrested Tuesday afternoon on eight complaints of shooting with intent to kill, police said. An arrest warrant filed Tuesday at the Oklahoma County courthouse said Hill was identified by one of the victims of the shooting after the Oklahoma City Thunder's Monday night game. According to the affidavit, Hill, two other men and a woman were involved in an altercation with several of the shooting victims before one of the men pulled a gun and started shooting into the crowd. A pregnant woman was trampled and kicked during the melee. Oklahoman

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At least eight people were shot downtown shortly after the Thunder game let out Monday night, police said. About 11:35 p.m., shots were reportedly fired on Reno Avenue between Mickey Mantle Drive and Joe Carter Avenue, about three blocks east of Chesapeake Energy Arena. Oklahoman

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“Preliminary reports indicate that eight people were shot and one person suffered blunt trauma, and that person was a pregnant woman,” Oklahoma City police Capt. Dexter Nelson said. “Everything is very, very preliminary. We still don’t know the actual number of victims. We believe that one person is critical, and the other injuries are not believed to be life-threatening,” Nelson said. One person was shot in the back, another in the upper arm and a third in the hand, according to police radio traffic. The pregnant woman is thought to have been kicked in the melee, Nelson said. Two suspected shooters were in custody at the Harkins Bricktown Cinemas before midnight, Oklahoma City police Capt. Lisa Camacho said. Oklahoman

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Former basketball star Marvin Barnes pleaded not guilty Friday to a charge of indecent solicitation of a child. The charge was lodged by Cranston police. The Associated Press, checking court papers, reported that Cranston police in January monitored a coffee shop meeting between Barnes, 59, and a 17-year-old girl who is a student at the Met School in Providence, where Barnes had been mentoring male students. Providence Journal

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Magistrate Patrick Burke released Barnes, who lives in Framingham, Mass., pending a July 16 pre-trial conference. Burke ordered him to have no contact with the girl. Providence Journal

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The Thunder public address announcer who was arrested on complaints of lewd acts with a child in Oklahoma County is also under investigation in Pontotoc County, a Harrah police spokesman said on Friday. James Allan Miller, 41, a Harrah High School teacher and tennis coach who has moonlighted for the Thunder, was arrested Thursday as he attended a meeting at Putnam City High School. Miller posted $30,000 bail Friday, an Oklahoma County jail official said. A probable cause affidavit filed Thursday in Oklahoma County District Court states Miller is accused of performing a lewd act while watching pornography in front of a boy. The district attorney had not filed charges as of 5 p.m. Friday. Oklahoman

Oklahoma City Thunder, Law, James Miller 

In the Oklahoma County case, two women also reported Miller performed lewd acts in front of them while looking at pornography and the behavior progressed to sexual abuse, the affidavit states. Curt Knox, who coaches girls' basketball at Harrah High School, said that he was “shocked” by the allegations. School officials placed Miller on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, Stewart said. “At no point in time did we ever uncover anything that pointed to students being involved in any way,” he said. Oklahoman

Oklahoma City Thunder, Law, James Miller 

A lawyer for Nuggets center Chris Andersen today provided a statement to The Denver Post that gives a glimpse into the complicated case involving the player's home being searched by sheriff's deputies investigating Internet crimes against children. Douglas County investigators on Thursday went to Andersen's home in Larkspur, seized property that includes electronic devices being forensically examined by a lab. Andersen, 33, has not been arrested or charged with a crime. Denver Post

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The sheriff's office this afternoon has clarified that "no individual(s) are being identified as the focus of this investigation," according to a statement from spokesman Sgt. Ron Hanavan. In the statement, Colin Bresee, an attorney for Andersen, suggested that a woman from California tried to get items of value from Andersen. The statement reads: "A female fan in 2010 mailed Mr. Andersen multiple letters and included several photos in which she was scantily clad. Chris and this woman communicated with each other and in 2011, this woman, who represented herself as 21 years of age, flew to Colorado, showing her required identification. After leaving Colorado, she became upset at his lack of interest. In 2012, she threatened to retaliate if he did not provide financial remuneration. " Denver Post

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"Professional athletes are routinely targeted by these types of individuals," the statement said. "The media has been speculating that he's a suspect and not a victim in a criminal investigation. Mr. Andersen has been fully cooperative with the authorities. The investigation is expected to take three weeks. We're confident it will show that Chris did not engage in any criminal conduct." Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, Law, Chris Andersen 

An investigation by the Douglas County sheriff’s Crimes Against Children unit involving Denver Nuggets reserve center Chris "Birdman" Andersen could take weeks. Sheriff’s spokesman Ron Hanavan on Friday declined to release details about what items were seized at Andersen’s Larkspur, Colo., home a day before as part of the investigation. Authorities say Andersen has been under investigation since February following a tip from an unidentified California law enforcement agency. Items generally collected during such investigations include computers, hard drives and thumb drives. They’re sent to the multi-agency Rocky Mountain Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory in suburban Denver. Boston Herald

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SLAMonline has learned the Golden State Warriors have made out-of-court settlements this week in two sexual harassment claims against the team. Former Director of Community Relations Erika Smith and former dance team director Susan Hovey have each agreed to out-of-court settlements with the Warriors in their respective cases. Terms of the agreements were not disclosed. SLAM

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Smith sued the team in December alleging that former Warriors guard Monta Ellis sent her 61 unwanted text messages in December 2010, including a photo of his genitals. Her complaint also alleges she was fired after informing team officials that a local newspaper reporter had questioned her about receiving messages from Ellis. The settlement comes less than five months after the team issued a public response to Smith’s suit stating they would “vigorously defend the reputation of the Warriors organization in the courts.” The team also claimed in its response that Smith’s interactions with Ellis were consensual. SLAM

Golden State Warriors, Monta Ellis, Law 

A high school teacher who is the public address announcer for the Thunder was arrested on complaints of lewd acts with a child under 16, police reported Thursday. James Allan Miller, 41, of Harrah, is accused of three counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child under 16, according to a probable cause affidavit filed Thursday in Oklahoma County. Oklahoman

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