Rashid Byrd, who once signed a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers and appeared in the Will Ferrell basketball comedy Semi-Pro, has been sentenced to 90 years in prison for multiple sexual assaults.
The 42-year-old Byrd stands at 7’1″ tall but never appeared in an NBA game. Instead, the extent of his professional basketball career peaked when he played in 19 games for the Lakers’ D-League affiliate in the 2008-09 season. He also had signed a contract with the Sacramento Kings.
Byrd has been in custody for over three years after being arrested by Los Angeles Police in 2020 for one such violent assault. An investigation revealed that he was also convicted of sexual assault in 2010 and arrested for a sexual assault in Washington in 2005.
Former NBA Player Rashid Byrd Sentenced to 90 years to life in prison for RAPING Multiple women ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ pic.twitter.com/61MgxodwhU
— BIGMANSHANE1710 (@BIGMANSHANE1) March 3, 2024
Rashid Byrd Will Spend His Life In Prison
During his time in the NBA D-League, Rashid Byrd averaged just 4.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Perhaps he’ll improve upon those numbers during the one-hour rec league out in the yard where he will be playing for the rest of his life.
A statement by the LAPD reveals that Byrd initially presented himself as “charming” to his victims before he “subsequently forced them into a variety of sex acts.”
“The LAPD is grateful for the brave women who came forward to tell their stories,” Detective Dara Brown said. “While this investigation has gone on for years, we are thankful that Byrd is no longer on the streets.”
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Rashid Byrd played #50 on the Flint Tropics in the Will Ferrell movie Semi-Pro about a fictional ABA team trying to survive a merger with the NBA.
Ferrell played Jackie Moon, a singer who used the profits from his one-hit wonder, “Love Me Sexy”, to buy the Tropics and become their owner, head coach, starting power forward, and pre-game announcer.
The film also featured Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin, and Maura Tierney.
Byrd is listed on IMDB as being in the documentary film Bring Your ‘A’ Game.
