Sex, drugs & pick & roll

Earl the Pearl: My Story

by Earl Monroe with Quincy Troupe

Rodale

In 1973, the Knicks were one game away from winning the NBA championship. Earl Monroe was on top of the world a superstar guard on the court, a celebrity in New York City.

Monroe and his girlfriend, Tina, were walking to his Rolls-Royce outside Madison Square Garden when they came upon three big, nasty-looking, heavyset white cats. Though they wore Knicks hats and shirts, they seemingly didnt recognize Earl the Pearl.

They looked at us and then one of the guys pushed me, punched me in the jaw and called me a n - - - er, Monroe writes. I was shocked. In Manhattan?

Getty Images

Earl Monroe in 1975, two yearsafter he helped the Knicks win a title.

Monroe had experienced plenty of racism in his life, but here, now, by fans of his own team?

Tina pulled him away, but an enraged Monroe got into his car and pulled out the gun he stored inside. Instead of heading directly to the airport where he was supposed to meet the Knicks for their flight to Los Angeles, he cruised the area around the Garden looking for his attackers.

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Sex, drugs & pick & roll