The New York Knicks ended their four-game losing streak Tuesday night as they defeated the Detroit Pistons, so some of the players decided to go out and celebrate. Second year man Cleanthony Early was out at a strip club in Queens early Wednesday morning when he was robbed and shot in the knee, according to Thomas Tracy of the New York Daily News.
Early is reportedly in stable condition and the one shot he suffered to his knee is not considered life threatening, but he is the second Knicks player to be targeted in a robbery in the past two weeks. About a week-and-a-half ago, Knicks forward Derrick Williams was robbed of about $750,000 in jewelry from his home.
This incident occurred when Early and his girlfriend were leaving the strib club in Queens. They were about a mile away from the club in an Uber when the car was boxed in by three other vehicles. There were reportedly four to six men, two of which had guns, and all of them were wearing masks. When they pulled the car over, they took Early out of the back seat and told him to give them everything he had. He obliged by giving up all of his cash, his two gold chains, the gold caps on his teeth and his iPhone 6. Even after giving the robbers everything he had on him, Early was still shot in his right knee.
The Uber driver was also robbed, and the men took his ID. Early was immediately taken to Elmhurst Hospital before being transferred to a different hospital. Employees of the gentlemens club (CityScapes gentlemen's club on 58th Street in Maspeth Queens) declined to comment, but the Knicks did release a brief statement.
"We are aware of what occurred with Cleanthony Early this morning and are relieved that he is not in a life-threatening situation. We will not comment any further until we receive more information," said the team.
Early was a second round pick by the Knicks in the 2014 NBA Draft and is in his second year with the team. The Bronx native has only appeared in 10 games this season for the Knicks, averaging less than one point in a little more than three minutes per game, but has spent most of his time in the D-League. Whether his injury is career threatening is unknown right now, but the good news is that it is not life threatening.
