Rumors

Lights, camera, layup. The NBA Summer League is giving athletes another shot that takes place behind the camera. With assists from Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett and Hollywood power players Mark Wahlberg and Deon Taylor, the Summer League Film Festival is coming back starting July 17 in Las Vegas. The three-day festival will bring big-screen storytelling through 34 selected projects, spotlighting stories produced by NBA stars past and present including Nikola Jokic, Luguentz Dort, Tony Allen, Nate Robinson, Cole Anthony, Keyon Dooling and Udonis Haslem.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Keyon Dooling: "Mike Dunleavy played a critical role in my career because he told me I wasn’t an NBA player. He told me, 'You can’t shoot, you can’t dribble, you don’t handle the ball well, you’re not a one, you’re not a two.' I used that as motivation. I worked harder in the summers, worked on my shooting, and became better. A lot of times, the hate, the doubters, and the naysayers fuel you. I told Eddie the other day, Mike came to me in Toronto after we put the Raptors out of the playoffs. He said, 'Hey man, I had that wrong. You turned yourself into a hell of a player.' My teammates looked at me like, 'Damn, okay.' That validation was cool, but it was almost like, 'Damn, that was fueling me.' Sometimes you need those voices to push you, to motivate you to prove people wrong."

YouTube

Keyon Dooling: "I was able to accept the consequences that came along with me. I chose to make the decision to go down the path of dealing with healthcare fraud. It was a choice; it was a decision. It was the wrong decision, but a decision nevertheless. One thing I didn’t want to ever do was put somebody’s family through what my family had to experience. I come from an era where if you do something, you just take it—you take whatever comes with it. Right, wrong, good, bad, up, down, left, right, you just accept the consequences of it. I’ve just never been the type of man to snitch, tell, implicate, or involve anyone else. But it’s very disappointing—for the choice that I made, number one, but also for people who you’ve got 20- or 30-year relationships with, hearing them on wiretaps. That’s a different type of blow to the stomach."

YouTube

Keyon Dooling: "I could count on both of my hands how many people were there for me and my family through this process. It was a big blessing, to be honest with you. It’s a blessing to kind of know who messes with you and who doesn’t—where you stand in the hierarchy of relationship and friendship. A lot of people, I was a little surprised. You do so much, right? You know how it is when you take care of the family, try to elevate people, bring people along, support people, and give a lot. But I also understand. I understand that pressure ain't no joke when it comes. So, I don’t really have any hard feelings anymore at this point for a lot of guys or how our relationships went separate ways. I don’t have anger or bitterness. But what I do have is accountability. If you don’t love me through the storm, you can’t love me when the sun’s shining."

YouTube

Keyon Dooling: "I’m just Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I don’t believe in snitching. I don’t believe in telling. I don’t believe in implicating anyone. That’s just not the way I kick my game. When they came and knocked on my door, I just accepted responsibility for my actions and the consequences that came along with it. Now, what I’m not going to do is allow people to re-aggravate or revisit that every time my face or my name comes up. I did my time for that, and I’ll deal with the consequences moving forward from that. But I won’t be defined by it; I’ll be refined by it. I’ll meet a different version of myself. With the work I put in, the relationships I have, and the gifts I have, I’m still going to bet on KD. I’m still going to bet on me."

YouTube

After his NBA career ended in 2013, Dooling was soon hired as a player development coach by the Utah Jazz in 2020. However, his coaching career was placed on hold when he was arrested in April 2022 on charges of fraud. Nearly a year later, the native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was sentenced to 30 months in prison. Also indicted were former NBA champion Glen "Big Baby" Davis and former NBA guard Will Bynum, while 19 former NBA players were implicated in the scheme that was uncovered in 2021. Speaking about the incident, Dooling made no qualms about admitting his part in the fraudulent scheme. He expressed regret for his actions. "I try to be very clear on the fact that it was just a bad judgment. It was a mistake. It was greed. It was trying to, you know, navigate in the wrong way. You know, I didn't wait on God for opportunities, you know what I'm saying, to open up for me," Keyon shared in a candid and emotional interview. "I saw, not even an opportunity—I won't call it an opportunity—you know, I saw a lick, so to speak."

basketballnetwork.net

"I'm not pointing the finger at anybody, but I got exposed to it. You know, cats was moving around doing that, and I decided to do it," Keyon, who spent 18 months in federal custody, admitted. "One of the worst—not one of the worst—the worst decision I made in my entire life."

basketballnetwork.net

Former NBA forward Glen Davis was sentenced by a federal judge Thursday to 40 months in prison, plus three years' supervised release, for his Nov. 2023 conviction in an alleged scheme to defraud the league's health care benefits plan. More than 20 people, including numerous former players such as Terrence Williams and Keyon Dooling, have been sentenced in the case for filing false medical claims with the NBA Players' Health and Benefit Welfare Plan.

ESPN

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that KEYON DOOLING and ALAN ANDERSON were sentenced to 30 months and 24 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in a scheme to defraud the National Basketball Association (“NBA”) Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan (the “Plan”). U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni sentenced DOOLING today and previously sentenced ANDERSON on February 10, 2023.

justice.gov

According to the Indictments, public court filings, and statements made in court: The Plan is a health care plan providing benefits to eligible active and former players of the NBA. DOOLING and ANDERSON both played in the NBA and were eligible to receive reimbursements from the Plan for legitimate, qualifying medical expenses. Co-defendant TERRENCE WILLIAMS orchestrated the scheme to defraud the Plan.[1] DOOLING and ANDERSON also occupied managerial roles in the scheme. WILLIAMS, DOOLING, and ANDERSON recruited other former NBA players to defraud the Plan, including by offering to provide them with false invoices to support their fraudulent claims.

justice.gov

In addition to their prison terms, DOOLING, 42, of Orlando, Florida, was ordered to forfeit $449,250.50 and pay restitution of $547,495; and ANDERSON, 40, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was ordered to forfeit $121,000 and pay restitution of $121,000.

justice.gov

A former vice president of the National Basketball Players Association was arrested Wednesday and added to a criminal case in which 18 former NBA players were charged with illegally pocketing millions of dollars by defrauding the league’s health and welfare benefit plan. The rewritten indictment added Keyon Dooling to the case first brought in October, when federal officials said a number of former NBA players combined to collect about $2.5 million from the benefit plan.

Washington Post

“It is a case concerning his time at the National Basketball Players Association, prior to him joining our organization. He has been put on paid administrative leave,” the Jazz said. “Due to the ongoing legal process, we will refrain from further comment.”

Washington Post

Sarah Todd: The release from the DOJ U.S. Attorney includes this (text messages) about Keyon Dooling's involvement:

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