Roy Tarpley is the classic example of a sports superstar who spectacularly crashed & burned. He was a really good player for the Dallas Mavericks in the late ’80s, only to let drugs & alcohol destroy his career. His substance abuse was so bad that the NBA banned him twice from the league, the second time for life.

After suffering such a mighty blow to your livelihood, there are two ways to approach the situation. You can take responsibility for your own destructive actions, admit it’s your own fault you can never play pro basketball again, and try to sober up & stay clean for your remaining years. Or you can sue the Mavs & the NBA for not letting you play again.

And guess which lane Roy decided to drive down?

Tarpley slapped a lawsuit against his former team & league saying that their refusal to reinstate him violated the American With Disabilities Act. He argued that as a recovering drug addict, he had a disability, and was therefore being discriminated against.

Instead of fighting what would seem like a frivolous suit, the NBA & the Mavs decided to settle out of court. And as expected, some DFW writers are up in arms about Roy raking in some dough over such a dubious claim.

Randy Galloway of the FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM shares no sympathy for Tarpley’s pathetic plight:

Beyond a cranky basketball knee in his playing days, this guy didn’t have a “disability.” What he had was a powerful addiction.

An addiction to cocaine, booze and even McIlhenny Tabasco Sauce, which when used to excess caused Roy to miss games with a bad stomach.

Frivolous lawsuits are nothing new in this country, but how can a stone-cold drug addict get a financial settlement 20 years later by hiding behind an otherwise important piece of legislation like the Americans with Disabilities Act?

While covering the Mavs during the ‘94-’95 season, Richie Whitt of the DALLAS OBSERVER recalls one game where he swears Tarpley was playing “drunk, or high, or something…”. Whitt may have been tipped off thanks to a NSFW locker room tirade Roy ranted at Richie before the game.

So it’s no surprise Richie says he’s “disgusted” that the suit was settled:

“Settled’ = money, and that dude doesn’t deserve a penny. His only disability was a lack of will power to say no.

I’m all for second chances. But sixth and seventh chances and money for nothing? Sickening.

If it makes Galloway & Whitt feel better, Tarpley is probably back to being broke after spending all his settlement on some smack.