Marvin Barnes: The Spirit of St. Louis

Now, not to make light of drugs or the people that sell them, but this is a fantastic quote:

I met drug traffickers in St. Louis and they showed me another way of life.

Of course they did! And before we get into the actual story, doesn't Marvin "Bad News" Barnes, just sound like someone involved in drug trafficking? To be fair, it was only wholesale.

In any case, Barnes spoke to Fanhouse on multiple occasions this fall, and had some startling revelations:

"I was making 40 to 50 grand a week [selling] the drugs,'' said Barnes. "I was making so much money (in the selling of marijuana) it was hard to stay focused (on basketball).''

Barnes said he served as an investor with drug kingpin Paul Edward Hindelang Jr., who would later cooperate with the government and forfeit $50 million in drug-trafficking proceeds. Barnes said Hindelang's right-hand man was Roosevelt Becton, a friend of the basektball player whom he describes as the "godfather'' who "ran St. Louis.''

"Hindelang was the guy who started the 'mother ship,' which would park five miles away and boats would shoot for the (Colombia) shore,'' Barnes said. "He got a two-ton freighter a bunch of us (contributed for financially). Then it would go down and buy two tons of Colombian marijuana.

"It was the best marijuana. We bought it from the Colombian government for a dollar a pound ... I was investing money (in the operation).''

Roosevelt Becton... Some of you may be too young to remember, but Roosevelt Becton RAN THE STREETS back in the day. The streets of St. Louis, but still. His name rang out, yo.

Sure, this news may shock some. But Barnes was one of the more colorful characters in the ABA, infamous for his outlandish behavior. And his demise at the hands of drugs was well-publicized. For decades, "Bad News" Barnes has served as a cautionary tale to NBA stars and the dangers of unchecked hubris.

But just to put this in perspective: It was the 1970s... It was the ABA... It was Marvin Barnes. When you think about it, it'd be more surprising if he was NOT selling drugs.