Ray Allen got scolded by a federal judge and ordered to donate $1,000 to charity for failing to show up at a trial after being selected as a juror.
U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke told the basketball Hall of Famer during Wednesday’s hearing that he had disrespected the court by skipping out on jury service. Her order says “no man or woman is above performing that civic duty.”
Allen had been selected to serve as a juror in a fatal carjacking trial, but did not appear even after Cooke delayed the trial a day so that he could attend the jersey retirement ceremony of former Boston Celtics teammate Kevin Garnett, according to the Miami Herald. During the ceremony, Garnett called out the former sharpshooter as he told the crowd that it’s “good to see Ray Allen here.”
Ray proceeded to get up and hug Garnett as they were both joined by Paul Pierce.
His attorney, William McCue, apologized to Cooke and said Allen’s absence “was a complete misunderstanding.” Allen said he would make his donation to diabetes research.
The trial went on without Allen and the defendant was convicted.
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Allen won NBA championships with the Celtics in 2008 and Heat in 2013 and retired as the league’s career-best three-point shooter, a record that has since been eclipsed.
