Okafor's Rep Says Jah Doesn't Have a Fake ID, Didn't Request Security
TMZ Sports, who broke this whole Okafor stuff wide open, reports that a rep for the big man says he doesn’t have a fake ID and the potential security detail wasn’t his idea (Chris Broussard, wrong? Shocking):
“We spoke with Okafor’s rep who tells us bluntly … “He doesn’t have a fake I.D. It never happened.”
There’s more … Okafor’s rep also says the NBA star did NOT request a private security detail to accompany him when he goes out to nightclubs and bars.
However, the rep says Jahlil’s team HAS discussed plans to have security with him at team events. The rep says nothing is official at this point.”
The security thing is secondary because, let’s be honest, that’s pretty smart at this point. But as for the fake ID, a few things: First, it seems like common sense that he wouldn’t have one because WHO IS GOING TO FALL FOR IT. The report that he had a fake came from Gonzo’s reporting* that two sources told him Jah was turned away from Misconduct Tavern for having one.
Yesterday, when I was tweeting about this, someone I don’t personally know on Twitter claimed he saw Okafor inside Misconduct a month ago:
https://twitter.com/Oh_4_Loafer/status/671402242910605312
This sets up a “he said, he said” between Okafor’s people and Misconduct (or rather “two sources” and “one twitter guy”), with one side saying Jah had a fake and was turned away and the other saying Jah doesn’t have a fake. Okafor’s people aren’t saying he was inside Misconduct, but if he really doesn’t have a fake, it would behoove Misconduct to say he did and they turned him away instead of admitting they let him in. It would also behoove Okafor’s people to deny it since it’s the one thing in all of this they can deny, as there’s no documented evidence of it. It’s also completely reasonable to think the door peoples at Misconduct just saw his face and turned him away because they knew he was Jahlil Okafor. He’s not exactly inconspicuous.
So was he inside Misconduct? Was he turned away? Not sure. Does it really matter? Nope. But if you’ve got a picture of him inside there (actually, any bar will do) we’d like to see it. Send it along to kyle[at]crossingbroad[dot]com or jim[at]crossingbroad[dot]com or tweet it at us.
*Just to be clear, I am in no way saying Gonzo’s reporting was wrong, inaccurate, or anything of the sort. His reporting on this (and really, in general) has been great.