In a three-team swap, Coleman was traded back to the Philadelphia 76ers in October 2001. Coach Larry Brown expressed unprecedented support for Coleman, saying, "He's talked to me for two years about coming back here and it's no secret how much I like him, what a terrific player I thought he was."
Coleman's troubles weren't over with the trade to Philadelphia, though. In July 2002, Coleman was pulled over in a Detroit suburb for speeding; he had been clocked going 120 miles per hour on a freeway. He refused the Breathalyzer test, but later pleaded no contest to the DUI charge. Again, Coleman felt singled out because of his celebrity status. After the sentencing (which some felt to be inappropriately light—three days of community service and nine months of no-report probation), Coleman stated publicly, "If I was a regular Joe Schmo, they probably would have just given me a ticket and sent me on my way. We, as athletes, are in the public eye. That's the bad thing about it."
Citing this material
Please include a link to this page if you have found this material useful for research or writing a related article. Content on this website is from high-quality, licensed material originally published in print form. You can always be sure you're reading unbiased, factual, and accurate information.
Highlight the text below, right-click, and select “copy”. Paste the link into your website, email, or any other HTML document.
User Comments Add a comment…