By james art Former New York Knicks first-round draft pick Jerod Mustafa died Monday at the age of 55, according to the Baltimore Sun. The cause of death has not been disclosed by his family. Mustaf was a three-season standout at Maryland, averaging 16.6 points per game from 1988-90.
Tributes started pouring in from the moment news of his death broke. The Whiteville, N.C. native was drafted 17th overall by the Knicks in 1990, ahead of future NBA stars Jason Williams, Toni Kukoc, Antonio Davis and Cedric Ceballos. In 1993, Mustaf was accused of being involved in the murder of his pregnant girlfriend, Althea Hayes.
A career marred by controversy
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Mustaf was not charged and consistently denied the charges, even when his cousin, Lavoni Wooten, was convicted of the crime and sentenced to life in prison in 1996. The son of self-proclaimed “black fighter” Shaar Mustaf, the younger Mustaf played high basketball school at DeMatha High in Hyattsville, where he became one of the top recruits in the area.
Encouraged by his father, Mustaf attended the University of Maryland, where he earned spots on three Parade All-American teams.
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Despite being selected in the first round of the draft, Mustafa has had a tough time securing a spot in the Knicks’ rotation due to the depth at power forward with Charles Oakley on the team.
As a result, New York traded Mustafa to Phoenix in a deal that brought defensive specialist Xavier McDaniel to the Knicks.
Mustaf played in Phoenix until the 1993-94 season, during which his alleged girlfriend, Hayes, was shot and killed in her apartment in Glendale, Arizona.
According to an August 1993 article in the Roanoke Times, multiple witnesses said Mustafa was unhappy to learn Hayes was pregnant. Court documents later alleged that Mustaf offered to pay her $5,000 to have an abortion.
Accused of murder
On the night of the murder, Hayes reportedly called a cousin to say that Wooten, Mustaf’s cousin, was scaring her in her apartment. “She said, ‘I have to get out of here right now because they’re going to get me.’ recalled Tierman Spencer, Hayes’ cousin, to SI.com in 2019.
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According to a 2001 article in the Washington Times, several witnesses, including an off-duty police officer, reported seeing Mustaf and Wooten outside Hayes’ apartment complex on the night of the incident. Hayes’ mother, Hazel, and her husband, Alvin, told the Times they suspected Mustaf “paid someone to kill my daughter.”
Earlier in 1993, Mustaf and Wooten reportedly had an argument over a bill at a bookstore, which led to the 6-foot-10 basketball player attacking his cousin. Mustaf was charged with aggravated assault, and Wooten filed a lawsuit against him, as SI.com notes.
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He continued to play professionally overseas after Hayes’ murder before returning to Maryland around 2000.
In 2001, he was charged with assaulting his then-girlfriend Shalamar Muhammad Mustaf and violating a protective order related to that case, according to the Times.
Eventually, Mustaf became an activist and mentor to children in Baltimore. He even started a Pull ‘Em Up campaign to encourage kids to wear their pants at the appropriate height, as reported in a 2017 SI.com article.