He Did Stupid Things

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In today’s edition…

He was arrested 15 times before turning 15 years old.

But after landing in a maximum-security detention center, he found a glimmer of hope.

“I did stupid things. But I learned…And once I had a goal, I never gave up.”

Let’s dive in 👇

How Caron Butler Escaped Life as a Drug Dealer to Become an NBA Champion

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"People from all walks of life can make it and become successful."

Caron Butler is an extreme example.

His journey, marked by hardship, resilience, and transformation, is a testament to the power of second chances.

He went from a teen who teetered on a life of crime to a college star then an NBA champion.

James Caron Butler was born and raised in Racine, Wisconsin, a blue-collar city plagued by drugs, violence, and poverty.

"There was a lot of adversity you had to overcome from the second you walk off your porch to the second you come back into your house," Caron said, "if you’re lucky enough to come back home."

Whereas most kids are playing outside, Butler was carrying weapons by the age of nine.

Two years later, he was already entrenched in a dangerous lifestyle, selling drugs to survive.

By the time he was a teen, Butler was pulling in five figures dealing cocaine.

Rather than viewing athletes as role models, he drew inspiration from Jimmy “Junebug” Carter, a drug dealer who called himself “The Santa Claus of the Ghetto”.

“Be like Mike? Everybody I knew wanted to be like Junebug”, Butler said.

Before he could even drive, Caron was arrested 15 times before turning 15, facing a future that seemed predestined to repeat the cycle of crime and despair around him.

At one point, he spent time at the Ethan Allen School for Boys, a reform school, after an administrator found a gun and cocaine in his locker.

Reflecting on this period, Caron described how stepping outside his home felt like navigating a war zone:

“You had gangs, you had drugs, and you’re exposed to so much. The crime rate was pretty bad, and there was a lot of adversity you had to overcome from the second you walked off your porch to the second you came back in.”​

He eventually landed at a maximum security detention center.

It was the most painful point of his life.

"It was survival," he said. "You've got murders in there…It was a bad environment."

That's where he discovered his love for basketball. It gave him the one thing he needed: hope.

"I remember writing my mother letters, so many letters, telling her how much I loved her and if I was to get out, I would never, ever hurt her again," he told Oprah Winfrey.

"It was from this moment I knew that I could do anything in life."

Set on turning his life around, or at least trying to, he picked up a job at Burger King, slinging burgers and fries rather than drugs and bullets.

Trading thousands for a paycheck a fraction of the amount, Caron was at least trying to keep himself on the right path.

​A turning point came when he was 17.

In January 1998, during a drug bust, Sergeant Rick Geller found crack cocaine in the house where Butler was staying.

Despite his criminal record, Geller saw potential in Caron and decided not to pursue charges.

"He showed me tremendous favor. He knew that I wasn’t the guy that sold to the informant that morning and he released me."

That pivotal moment spared Butler a possible 10-year prison sentence and gave him the chance to redirect his life.

Back in school, this time at Maine Central Institute, Caron drew the attention of another man who could help change his life: UConn Huskies head coach Jim Calhoun.

"It got me away from the noise and all the distractions and put me in a situation where I was alone and I got stronger mentally and physically. I stayed goal-oriented," Caron said.

"Coach (Calhoun) taught me how to be professional on and off the court. I just took my dreams and ran with them."

In his first year on campus, the freshman led the Huskies in both scoring and rebounding.

That summer, Butler represented the red, white, and blue at the FIBA U-21 Tournament, where the US team captured gold.

His second season with the Huskies was even better than his first, increasing his scoring average by five points (15.3 to 20.3), earning co-Big East Player of the Year and Second Team All-American honors while helping the team to the Elite 8.

Although Butler was finding success on the court, it was the lessons he was learning off the court, especially from Calhoun, that aided in his approach to life.

Especially when it came to his young son.

“He taught me a lot about just being a good human being, a good person, having a family atmosphere around you, and the importance of family and professionalism,” Caron said.

“I already had a child at the time and he used to tell me you want to have a good name and do these things so your kid can appreciate all the things that you’ve done.”

In 2002, just eight years after spending time in prison, Butler was selected as the 10th overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Miami Heat.

While life in South Beach can be a party for most, Caron quickly took note of Pat Riley’s legendary methodology.

On the first day Butler arrived in Miami, Riley put it plainly:

“Your locker is over there. If you arrive to practice an hour early, you’re late. You should start working out tomorrow morning. And what was your name again?”

Sure he was saddled with a 4-year, $7.8 million contract, but to his coach, he was just another guy on the team.

"Miami’s reputation for nightlife could’ve derailed some young guys, but it never worried me," Caron said.

"By then, basketball was something I was going to protect at all costs. I’d come too far to let the noise distract me."

A member of the NBA All-Rookie First Team, Caron Butler averaged 15.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists on a young Miami team that struggled for success.

After his second season, one in which he regressed statistically, Butler found himself as part of the huge trade package for Shaquille O’Neal.

"I mean, damn, I would’ve traded myself for Shaq, too," he wrote later.

"If you can look at yourself in the mirror and say that you are more valuable to a team than Shaq, then I don’t know what to tell you. That’s an issue with your ego."

After 77 games in Los Angeles, Caron and his family found themselves in Washington D.C. where he’d spend most of his career.

Throughout his five-plus seasons with the Wizards, Butler made two All-Star teams and averaged 19 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while teaming up with Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison to help the team to two playoff appearances.

That’s when he earned the "Tuff Juice” label from coach Eddie Jordan.

Despite not feeling well, Butler still managed to get through a practice session, drawing the attention of Jordan.

"He was like, 'You're tuff juice.' And it just kind of stuck."

A fitting nickname for a player full of grit.

Speaking of grit, you'd have to have it in order to deal with Butler’s daily routine of downing anywhere from a six-pack to a 2-liter bottle of Mountain Dew per day.

That wasn’t Butler’s only bad habit.

He was also notorious for chewing on upwards of a dozen plastic straws, specifically McDonald’s ones, during each game – a habit he’d kept since playing AAU ball.

A 2010 NBA trade deadline move to Dallas brought Butler bittersweet success as he joined future Hall of Famers Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd.

During his first season with the Mavericks, the NBA clamped down on his straw chewing, stating it was a health and safety concern.

A year later, the Mavs captured their first NBA title, but Butler, who did earn a ring, was sidelined after the 29th game of the season with a ruptured patellar tendon.

For the next five years, Caron played for five different teams, eventually finishing his NBA career with the Sacramento Kings during the 2015-16 season.

Few, including Butler himself, could have predicted a kid who was running amok in the streets of Racine, Wisconsin would play 14 years, 881 games, and win an NBA title.

Looking back on his journey, Butler said, “It’s important to me now that kids from Racine, and places like it, see that I’m exactly like them. I’m from the same place they are, and I was a kid once too. I did stupid things. But I learned.”

“It wasn’t easy, learning those lessons, and I’m sure it took longer than my mother would’ve liked, but I did learn eventually. And once I had a goal, I never gave up. I didn’t want to let down the people who believed in me.”

🐶 

This story was written by our pal in the Great White North, Steve Lee. If you enjoyed it, I’d appreciate you sharing it with a friend.

Here are two more stories you might also like:

• Was Coach Carter a True Story? Here’s What Really Happened

• How 5’3” Muggsy Bogues Became the NBA’s Shortest Player Ever

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Extra Innings…

🦆 This little guy is just like Saquon Barkley.

👊 “Please don’t let them break you! The whole world was against me.” UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili gave a heck of a post-fight speech.

⚾️ After teaching himself to throw left-handed, this undersized pitcher is going into the Hall of Fame.

🌟 Trivia Answer: B) Expand the strike zone, “extending it from the top of the shoulders to the bottom of the knees [and] restoring its original pre-1950 specifications.”

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