Toine Talks Hold Up

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

Wow, $12 breakfasts.  It's nice to be rich...

Thanks to BSG: http://www.bostonsportsguy.com
for mentioning it.

NBA star won't allow robbery to alter his lifestyle

July 19, 2000

BY LACY J. BANKS STAFF REPORTER
CHICAGO SUN TIMES

It was the most expensive breakfast Antoine Walker never ate.

One that cost him and his friends $100,000 and nearly something more
precious.

"It's a scary thing to find yourself staring down the barrel of a pistol
like I was," Walker said Tuesday. "We lost some money and jewelry, but
we still have our life and health, which is most important."

Walker, the 23-year-old Boston Celtics star, and five friends--including
fellow Chicago native Nazr Mohammed of the Philadelphia 76ers--were
robbed at gunpoint in the early-morning hours July 2 while waiting for
Eppel's Restaurant, 554 W. Roosevelt, to open.

The robbers' take was an estimated $100,000 worth of jewelry--including
Walker's $55,000 Rolex watch--and more than $3,000.

Since news of the robbery first was reported in the Chicago Sun-Times
and other media, Walker has been asked about, well . . . what's up with
that watch?

"A lot of people expressed surprise that I had on such an expensive
watch," he said. "I feel I should have the freedom to enjoy the finer
things of life just like anybody else in America. I simply have to be a
little more careful about how, when and where I do things."

So what were he and his friends doing?

"We were out socializing, and we decided to get one of those good
breakfasts they serve at Eppel's," said Walker, who this week is running
his third free basketball camp for inner-city youths at his alma mater,
Mount Carmel High School. "[The restaurant] opens at 4:30 a.m., and we
got there at 4:15 a.m., parked outside and waited for it to open."

Walker said he was looking forward to enjoying his usual $12 order of
scrambled eggs, sausage patties, grits, toast and fruit juice. But as he
sat behind the steering wheel of his Mercedes-Benz with his window
rolled down, enjoying the fresh morning air, the gunmen appeared. They
pointed a gun in Walker's face, then pushed it into his chest and
demanded money and jewelry.

"The robbery lasted about 30 to 40 seconds," Walker said. "They got my
watch, my bracelet and about $3,000 cash. After it happened, we just sat
there for a moment before we called the police. We were shocked and yet
relieved because it could have been worse. It's something you read about
happening to others. You think it will never happen to you, and when it
does, it's something you wouldn't wish to happen to anybody.

"I didn't necessarily think the robbers intended to hurt us. But it's a
situation where anything can happen when somebody's pointing a loaded
gun at you."

A police spokesman said no one is in custody and there are no suspects
at this time.

Did the robbery convince Walker he needs to tone down his lifestyle?

"Not really," he said. "I . . . have to be more careful about stuff I
wear, where and when I wear it. And I am reminded that as a pro athlete,
I am a target of people who envy what I have and will do anything to
take it away from me."

Walker said the life-threatening experience taught him some lessons, but
won't change him.

"I still have to be me, and I love my freedom," Walker said. "But I
don't think I'll have early-morning breakfasts like that any time soon."