Robert Whaley insists that there are two sides to every story.
His fiancee insists that the former Utah Jazz center is not the bad person who has been portrayed in the media as a thug or a punchline.
The one-time second-round draft choice portrays himself as a victim of circumstance.
"I don't know what to do no more," he says from behind a glass window in the visitors' center of the Salt Lake County Jail. "I love basketball. But this almost makes me hate basketball. If I had never picked up a ball, I'd never be here."
Whaley presents an empathetic image.
But it is difficult to reconcile Whaley's words with his ever-growing list of criminal entanglements, a few minor. Others, including his latest arrest for violating probation and alleged drug possession, are decidedly more serious.
"At a certain point as a parent, kids grow up and don't listen anymore," Whaley's mother, Sonia Wright, said. "I love him. He has to accept responsibility for his problems, take a good look in the mirror and figure out what kind of person he wants to be.
"I tried to express to him that we can make mistakes and God will still love him."
Whaley says he didn't have any marijuana in his possession when arrested by Salt Lake County police earlier this month. Unified Police Department Lt. Don Hutson was told by the arresting officers they found one baggie on Whaley, and another later when they performed a more-detailed search.
"They had him leaning over the car, and as they're searching, he keeps flexing his butt cheeks, keeping them together," Hutson said. "They told him to stop it and when he relaxes, something falls out and it is a small bag. Later, they found another bag hidden a little further up."
Whaley believes he and the car's driver were profiled at 2:30 a.m. when they stopped at 3900 South and 700 West. He says they were visiting the girlfriend of the driver.
Whaley reportedly offered police a false name. But officers recognized Whaley and discovered a warrant for his arrest.
"We asked why [the officer] pulled us over," Whaley said. "He said we had driven past a suspected drug area. If that was the case, why didn't they pull over all the cars?"
'Scared of Michigan'
When Whaley turns 28 on April 16, he'll be in jail, maybe prison. Most likely, he won't be charged for possession, as it would delay his extradition to Berrien County, Mich., where he is wanted for being an absconder after pleading guilty in August 2008 for maintaining a drug vehicle.
According to Whaley, he didn't know the friend in Michigan he was driving with was dealing heroin. One sale was to an undercover cop.
Whaley says the friend asked him to hold some money, which turned out to be marked bills.
"My friend then made a deal," Whaley said. "He turned state's evidence against me. I had a [basketball] job offer in China. I plead to a misdemeanor, but they put me on felony probation."
John Schultz, supervisor of Berrien County probation, said the procedure is usually handled as a misdemeanor, but is in reality a felony. Whaley was sentenced to 18 months' probation. The maximum penalty was two years.
The sentence was the latest as an adult that goes back to 2003, when Whaley was placed on 12 months' probation for two counts of battery.
Then there was driving with a suspended license (2005); for having an open container of alcohol in a car (2006); a guilty plea for malicious destruction of personal property (2007) and the 2008 drug charge.
"I'll take full responsibility for the crimes I commit," Whaley said. "But I'm scared of Michigan. They ain't treated me right. I feel they have to make me an example."
Schultz scoffed.
"If he didn't screw up, we wouldn't know who he was," Schultz said. "What a waste of talent. [Basketball analyst] Dick Vitale rated him as one of the top five high school players in America."
Whaley's problems with the law began even as he experienced the first growth spurt as a 12-year-old that would eventually see the Benton Harbor, Mich., native reach 6-foot-10 and pursued by basketball coaches.
"He always had a hard time as a kid," Wright said. "He was so big. If he was a normal [sized] person, he would have gone to boot camp instead of them keep giving him fines."
"When Robert was a small kid, he suffered from attention deficit disorder. When he had his first growth spurt, when he was 12, coaches said, 'You don't need to take that medicine.' "
'Had to find his way'
The fourth of five children, Whaley was expected from early on to become the next big thing from Benton Harbor, which according to the 2000 census had the lowest per capita income per family in Michigan. About 40 percent of the city's population was below the poverty line.
Whaley's parents separated when he was a boy, and he grew up in an urban renewal housing simply known as the projects.
"I worked two jobs," Wright said. "Robert played with older kids doing more stuff than younger kids were needing to do. He's had issues with being a follower.
"He had to find his way. He had to find a male role model."
Maybe that's why, when reminded of his short-lived days with the Jazz, Whaley brightened and said, and "I love [coach] Jerry Sloan."
Whaley's basketball talent looked like a way out of Benton Harbor, much as talent provided an escape for NBA great Chet Walker and current New York Knicks player Wilson Chandler.
"Everyone wanted something from us," Wright said.
Then, when he was in high school, Whaley was accused of rape. The case ended in a mistrial.
"This all started from the rape case," Whaley said. "That sucked the life out of me. We had a video of the prosecutor telling the girl what to say.
"It followed me and made me out to be a bad guy. There wasn't anything I could do."
Since Whaley was a juvenile, the facts of the case are sealed.
'I'm not that bad'
Most colleges backed off after that and Whaley, nearly "Mr. Basketball" in 2001, wound up at Barton County Community College. Eventually, he was recruited by Cincinnati but left the program before the season was over.
Whaley played for Walsh University, where he averaged 19.9 points, and was named the NAIA Division II Player of Year. Walsh won its first and only NAIA National Championship.
Drafted by the Jazz in 2005, Whaley played 23 games before injuring a knee. He and fellow rookie Deron Williams were involved in a confrontation in a Park City nightclub with a group of Nuggets fans. Both players gave the police false names and received misdemeanor citations.
Whaley also cut his hand, but told the Jazz he hurt it trying to take a knife away from his infant son. He was fined and suspended for two games by the team.
Whaley was eventually traded to the Toronto Raptors, and his career, which included time in the D-League and in Iran, is seemingly over.
"He would love to play basketball again," Whaley's fiancee, Karlyn Walters, said. "It is his passion. He's really trying to get on the straight line. He's made some dumb mistakes and he knows he can't make them anymore. He's getting older and he knows there's not much time to have a career, make something of himself.
"People can't blame their environment, and they are responsible for their actions. But they have made an impact on decisions he's made."
Walters said Whaley treats her two children like they're his own. Whaley says he returned to Utah to visit Walters.
"We're just trying to get through this," she said. "Right now it is one day at a time."
So, Whaley spends his days reading and talking to Walters on the phone. He's on the jail routine.
"Right now I'm doing a lot of studying, trying to talk with the right people," Whaley said. "I'm not that bad of a guy. If I do it, I own up to it. If you were in my spot, all you can hope for is the best. I'd hate for people to think this is who I am."
