Sports

College basketball

Descent rooted in decency

Ex-Gator Major Parker avoids jail in a drug case born out of family crises.

By ANTONYA ENGLISH
Published February 18, 2006

---

GAINESVILLE - The day Major Parker stood before a federal judge to face drug conspiracy charges in 2004, his lawyer said one day he hoped everyone would know the real story of what drove the respected former Florida basketball captain to commit such an unlikely crime.

Friday morning, nearly a dozen witnesses and Parker himself told the tale of a young man making less than $20,000 a year as an assistant to Florida coach Billy Donovan, so desperate to save his dying grandparents' home from foreclosure, he would do anything.

Anything, including dealing cocaine.

But after nearly two hours of tears and testimonials on his behalf, and based on Parker's testimony in December that led to the conviction of a much sought-after dealer from South Florida, Judge Stephan P. Mickle sentenced Parker to three years' probation, including six months' house arrest and 200 hours of community service, for his plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute and attempt to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine.

He could have received between 37 and 46 months in prison.

"You have an opportunity to be an invaluable part of whatever community you reside in, especially with regard to young people," Mickle said as Parker wiped tears after the sentence was handed down. "I hope you will take advantage of that. When big trees fall, they knock down little trees. ... I expect you will not be in this court, or any court, ever again."

Parker, 27, dressed in a navy blue suit and flanked by family and supporters, told Mickle the only time he'll enter a courtroom from now on will be to see his younger sister, Clara, a pre-law student who hopes to become an attorney.

"I made the mistake of my life and I apologize to the Gainesville community, the University of Florida, everyone who cared deeply for me and everyone who had great respect for me. ... I made a bad choice and I have paid deeply."

"Lost his way'

Parker was one of Donovan's first recruits at Florida.

When the coach took the stand Friday morning to tell of his love and admiration for him, Donovan summed up what eight others had tried to convey:

"For a two-month period, Major Parker lost his way. This is not characteristic of Major Parker. ... This is the characteristic of a person who got lost and couldn't find his way for two months. We need to help him find his way. This was a one-time thing where he got lost."

How far did Parker's life derail?

He went from playing in the 2000 Final Four and being one of seven players in Florida history to be a team captain for two seasons, to being Donovan's personal assistant, to a being short-order cook at Perkins Restaurant, the only place in Gainesville that would hire him after he was arrested.

Parker became involved in the drug operation with the help of former UF student and acquaintance Farrah Stephanie Moise. Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Smith said Parker sought out now-convicted drug dealer Edgar Johnson to purchase the drugs for Moise. Parker, Moise and Johnson are all from South Florida.

When Parker and Moise were arrested Dec. 7, 2004, trying to sell a half-kilogram of cocaine to an undercover police officer, Parker was in so deep even those closest to him didn't realize how bad things were.

"I wish I had better insight to realize the financial strain he was under," said UF assistant coach Anthony Grant, who recruited Parker out of high school and said he thinks of him as his little brother. "He really wanted to help his family, and that was the entire purpose of why he did what he did. ... But he learned that sometimes you end up hurting the people you love when you try to do too much."

Shortly after graduation, Parker moved his mother, Barbara, and his sister to Gainesville so his mother could be cared for at the cancer center at Shands.

Donovan said he went to Shands several times a week and saw Parker struggle as he watched his mother slowly die before his eyes.

Donovan paid for Barbara Parker's funeral in 2002, but the family pressures mounted.

"A bad choice'

When Ramona M. Chance met Parker in the fall of 2004, he was in desperate need of help. He had been referred to Chance, a Gainesville real estate attorney, because he needed advice on saving his elderly grandparents' South Florida home.

But the taxes from 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003 were all delinquent, insurance had lapsed and one of his aunts had transferred her name to the deed and later had a judgment placed against her - so the house couldn't easily be refinanced.

"I thought we needed about $7,000 to pull this out on quick glance," Chance said. "But it turned out to be much more."

Parker, working for Donovan and making about $20,000 a year, was determined he could do more.

"I've been under pressure all my adult life," Parker said. "For some reason, I always handled it extremely well. But when the pressure came to my grandparents, there was no way, under any circumstances, I was going to sit back as a man knowing my mother had passed. I was not about to sit back and depend on my aunts and uncles, who I know did not have the best interest of their mom and dad. I don't know if the Devil got into me, but I made a bad choice. A very bad choice. ... I just felt if I could get the money. My grandfather had Alzheimer's, my grandmother was passing from cancer. All they had were their grandchildren."

After Parker was arrested, the family lost the home.

"It's funny how things work out," he said. "I wanted to tell my children and grandchildren, this is where your grandmother and your father grew up. For some reason it wasn't meant to be."

Always his responsibility

Friends and family painted a picture of Parker as someone who always felt responsible for his family.

"He's very passionate about his family," his wife, Natalie, said.

"He loved my grandmother," his sister, Clara, said. "We all loved her. She was like my mother. We would do anything for her because she would do anything for us. He made a huge mistake, but at the time he was not thinking of the circumstances. He was just thinking of her."

Parker plans to return home to Fort Lauderdale, where he works at a furniture store and is coaching again. He will continue to spend countless hours mentoring young people and trying to steer them clear of the path he traveled.

"The most difficult thing for me was to look at the kids that used to look up to me, who are now 17, 18, 19," he said. "The hardest thing was to look in their eyes and tell them to learn from my mistake, to not handle things the way I did. I was the guy who climbed to the top of the ladder of success, but I fell back down. ... But nothing, nothing in this world could ever make me go back down this road again."

[Last modified February 18, 2006, 02:15:16]

[an error occurred while processing this directive]