Charles "Hawkeye" Whitney (born June 22, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player. After starring at North Carolina State, he was drafted by the Kansas City Kings in the first round of the

1980 NBA draft The 1980 NBA draft was the 34th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 10, 1980, at the Sheraton Centre Hotel & Towers, before the 1980–81 season. In this draft, 23 NBA teams took turns selectin ...

. A knee injury limited Whitney's professional career to just 70 games, and by 1989 he was

homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

and addicted to cocaine.

Kidnapping and arrest

On January 26, 1996, Whitney and a

juvenile Juvenile may refer to: *Juvenile status, or minor (law), prior to adulthood *Juvenile (organism) *Juvenile (rapper) (born 1975), American rapper * ''Juvenile'' (2000 film), Japanese film * ''Juvenile'' (2017 film) *Juvenile (greyhounds), a greyho ...

kidnapped

Mark D. Fabiani Mark D. Fabiani (born 1957) is an American political strategist, crisis management expert, former Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles and chief of staff to Mayor Tom Bradley, and former White House lawyer and spokesman. He is recognized for his work as ...

, the personal

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

of then-

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

Hillary Clinton. He was arrested, tried, convicted of a felony, and sentenced to 69 months in prison. Upon his release in 2000 he found work at the Niles Home for Children. Whitney asserted that he participated in the crime after being accused of stealing narcotics from another individual and as a way of protecting his sister whose life was threatened.

References

1957 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Washington, D.C. DeMatha Catholic High School alumni Kansas City Kings draft picks Kansas City Kings players NC State Wolfpack men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Shooting guards Small forwards {{1950s-US-basketball-bio-stub