The Caron Butler Story

In the inner city, gangs, guns, and drugs are things that are as common as the flu. For Caron Butler it was no different. Growing up in Racine, Wisconsin wasn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination, and thinking of a way out is probably 10 times as difficult. Recently I took some time out to scour the net for basketball related content and bumped into a documentary style story that Vice Sports did on him in 2014. I had always known the backstory of how Butler grew up but never knew the specifics. Unfortunately, he grew up in a similar predicament than a lot of African American young men in this country. No real role models to reach into our inner cities and show young black men how to make it out. He said that when he was coming up as a kid, if someone happened to make it out, they never were seen or heard from again. No one was reaching back to help anyone else make it out.

 

Butler at one point was one of the toughest players to guard in the NBA. He could score, rebound and was an elite perimeter defender. During his time in the NBA he was named to two All Star teams.  Growing up in Racine, Butler never thought about going to the league.  His thoughts had been diverted to figuring out where his next dollar was coming from.  He was always a better player than they other kids his age but his head wasn’t in the game.  His mind was occupied with crack sales, fiends and evading police.  In this type of environment, you get by day to day and making a buck overshadowed anything else.  Caron’s mom often had to work multiple jobs in order to support him and his brother. It was this feeling of helping your mom escape the harsh realities of poverty that led Butler to a life of crime.  Instead of proving himself on the court he wanted to prove himself on the streets.

 

During Caron’s early years, his uncles and a few cousins were already knee deep in the game. This was a family affair and it was easy to get involved.  At the young age of 11 Butler made his first drug deal. It’s hard to rationalize this in your head if you aren’t from a community where this type of stuff goes down.  At 12 years old Butler saved up enough money to by a .38 special revolver and sold drugs on his block with no regard for anything or anybody.  Before Caron turned 15 he had a rap sheet 15 offenses long.  He was on the path to being dead or in jail. During his freshman year in High School police apprehended Butler for having drugs, a gun and about $1,200 in cash in his locker.  Things only got worse for Butler from there. He was sentenced to 18 months in the Racine correctional institution. After 2 months at the facility he was transferred to the Ethan Allen School which was part of the juvenile justice system. It was here where the soul searching began and Caron began to care about his life and his future.

 

Butler really focused his attention to basketball, after all he was still young and there was still a chance to finish High School and make something of himself. Once out of prison, Caron enrolled in school, got a job at a nearby Burger King and attempted to stay out of trouble. This all almost came crashing in on him when police bursted into his home during an early morning raid. They found drugs on the property and Butler saw his life flash before his life. Already in trouble with the law, Butler thought his life was over. The captain didn’t believe the drugs were his and let Caron off the hook. If things ended differently this day Caron would have faced 10-15 years in prison. The story would have gone much different for Butler. No UConn, no NCAA championship, no NBA career would have been his reality.

 

Finding his way out of the circumstances that he was in became a mission for him. He took a small loan from someone he knew and paid his way through his first year of prep school in Maine. He worked on his craft religiously and in a matter of a few years he was back in control of his life and of his future. He received a scholarship from the University of Connecticut and played for legendary coach Jim Calhoun for two years. As a freshman, Butler led the Huskies in Points (15.6 ppg) and Rebounds (7.6 rpg). He had an even better sophomore campaign (20.3 ppg and 7.5 rpg) and led the Huskies to a Big East title. He was named co-Big East player of the year and led his team to an elite 8 appearance. After this season Caron Butler declared for the 2002 NBA draft.

 

Butler played with various teams including the Washington Wizards where he had his best statistical season posting career high averages in rebounds, assists, and points. He was also named as a reserve to the 2007 NBA Eastern Conference All-Star team, his first of two appearances. Although he was injured, Butler was on the roster of the champion Dallas Mavericks. In 2015, Butler released an autobiography entitled Tuff Juice: My Journey from the Streets to the NBA. Make sure you pick that up ASAP!  Butler’s story is inspirational to all kids in underprivileged neighborhoods across the world. If Caron Butler can make it out then so can you! You just have to dedicate yourself to your goals and put all faith in your abilities. Salute