Boys' basketball: Mychal Thompson goes public about son's arrest

The arrest of former Santa Margarita guard Klay Thompson for marijuana possession on Thursday night after he led Washington State to victory over USC is news because he's an athlete.

But even more startling is how his father, Mychal, a former NBA standout who calls Lakers games on the radio and is a radio talk-show host,  openly discussed the matter Friday on the radio. He called his son "an idiot" for putting his team, school and his own NBA ambitions in jeopardy for making a bad decision.

He talked about how many times he had warned his son about temptations and described how upset his wife was when she learned about the news.

Thompson's openness was compelling, but more important, it might help other families have a discussion and try to prevent a similar occurrence.

-- Eric Sondheimer

 

Comments

[Renee]

Mychal is a class act. It's so easy to blame anything and anyone else. Let's hope this is Klay's wake up call and it's his time to be a stand up man like his dad.

[Just]

I respect Thompson even more now because he's not blaming no one but his son. Many parents always put the finger on anyone else. This will make the younger Thompson even more responsible for his actions. I applaud mr. Thompson's reaction.