Come To Think Of It...Antoine Walker: Mo' Money, Mo' Problems

Former Boston Celtics star Antoine Walker made millions of dollars as a professional basebketball player. Yet today, his is broke and in debt. In fact, the Boston Globe says he owes his creditors more than $4 million dollars.

We know that Walker isn't the first high profile athlete to go broke, but it's still sad to see. The man earned more than $110 million dollars in his career. How the hell do you burn through that much cabbage?

Apparently, he lived large and was very generous to his friends, teammates and family. He also didn't invest his money. As Ralph Kramden once said, "It came easy and it went just as fast."

And he liked to roll the dice. Literally and figuratively. He routinely engaged in all-night gambling sessions where hundreds of thousands of dollars exchanged hands.

Meanwhile, the man is only 33 years old. Yet his life seems to be spiraling out of control. He's been busted for writing bad checks, robbed at gunpoint and has endured an early retirement from the NBA due in part to his reputation and poor conditioning.

No matter what you think of Walker, it's sad stuff. He is the perfect example of what not to do with your money when you become a rich athlete. He is a living, breathing,  spoiled rich sports stereotype. 

If he could get back into game shape, perhaps he could continue his NBA career so he could make some money to help pay off his debts. Assuming, that is, that he has changed his ways.

Walker faces up to four years in prison if he is convicted of the felony charges levied against him for drawing and passing checks without suficient funds with intent to defraud.

Walker is a free agent but no NBA teams are showing interest. He is reportedly considering playing overseas.

For us "average Joes", we long for an opportunity to get our hands on the kind of coin Walker made. Meanwhile, it only proves that with more money comes more problems. We'd all like to think that we would be smarter than Walker, and perhaps we would. Still, who knows?

I'd still like to try, however, come to think of it.