Late Night Snack: The Free Fall of a Former First Round Pick

Robert Swift (2008/Getty Images)

The other day I was perusing the internet looking at various stories that sparked my interest and one story really caught my attention, a story about just how far a former first round pick in the NBA draft truly has fallen.  Robert Swift, the 12th overall selection in the 2004 NBA draft by the (then) Seattle Supersonics has now fallen completely out of grace with not only basketball, but with life itself.  Drafted directly out of high school as a wide-eyed 18 year old, he had tremendous upside on the court, a legitimate 7’1″ player with a strong post game, his career looked to be taking off.

Robert Swift (2004/Getty Images)

Fast forward to today where it has become news that Swift is out of basketball, having last played in 2011 for the Tokyo Apache in Japan, and is now living in his suburban Seattle home, which technically does not belong to him any longer.  The house he is living in now has been foreclosed upon  and is in shambles, with beer cans strewn across the lawn, a bullet hole through the front window, and cars with no hoods and expired plates.

In reading this story it has been reported that Swift collected around $11.5 million of salary, and as of now is broke and a squatter.  How is it possible for athletes to fall so far in society with such promising careers in front of them?  Maybe Swift spent too much on tattoos?  Either way, it is shocking that someone’s life can be derailed so dramatically and so quickly, and teams need to monitor the spending habits of these young players so situations like this cannot happen again.  What other athletes can you think about this happening with?

Comment or tweet @theorangewedge to let us know!  Just some late night food for thought.