Jason Kidd's mugshot
Jason Kidd is not the first celebrity to be arrested for driving while intoxicated on Long Island or in the Hamptons, where the rich and famous frequently flock for the summer party scene.
The 39-year-old recently signed New York Knicks’ point guard joined a host of big names who’ve been busted locally for drunken driving when Southampton Town Police said he crashed his Cadillac Escalade into a utility pole in Water Mill early Sunday morning.
“I was at a club on the south fork,” he told police, according to court documents obtained by the Press. “I had a few drinks.”
In an oddly similar case, college basketball coach Tim Welsh was arrested for DWI in May 2010, three days after being hired by Hofstra University to lead the men’s b-ball team.
Nassau County police said he was asleep at the wheel. He resigned shortly later.
The following month, Real Housewives of New York City star Sonja Morgan was nabbed for DWI in Southampton village after authorities said she blew a stop sign.
And back in 2005, actress Lindsay Lohan’s dad, Michael, drove drunk into a telephone pole in Syosset. He later served 2 ½ years in prison and was released in 2007.
But the mother of all Hamptons DWI cases is none other than former powerhouse publicist Lizzie Grubman, who plowed her SUV into 16 patrons outside of a Southampton club. She spent 37 days at Suffolk County jail after pleading guilty to assault and hit-and-run charges, but not DWI.
Kidd’s case is far from over. Edward Burke, his Sag harbor-based attorney, reportedly said Kidd entered a not guilty plea at Southampton Town Justice Court.
Officers responded to the scene of the crash to find the two-time Olympic gold medalist behind the wheel. Police said he refused the breathalyzer but smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech, was unsteady on his feet and had bloodshot, wateryand glassy eyes.
Kidd is due back in court Wednesday. Neither his agent nor the Knicks have commented on the case.
The case prompted both the New York Daily News and The New York Post to run with the front-page headline “Slam Drunk” on Monday. Newsday, which is owned by Cablevision — a company controlled by the Dolan family, who also own the Knicks — ran the story on page A6.
The incident comes as the Knicks have a Tuesday deadline to match a $25-million contract offered by the Houston Rockets to breakout star Jeremy Lin, who Kidd was expected to mentor, as he is second in the NBA for assists and steals.
This is Kidd’s second arrest since 2001, when he was charged with domestic abuse of his ex-wife in Phoenix.
