Former Olympian Faces Foreclosure
Another sad tale of a former athlete facing financial woes has surfaced. Cindy Brown is an Olympic gold medal-winning basketball player who also played in the WNBA and around Europe. Now the former player is losing her fight to keep her Southern California home, a home she bought way back in 1989 in the town of Villa Park.The talented player was an All-American at Long Beach State( the 60 points she scored against San Jose State in 1987 remains the NCAA record for most points scored in a single game) and a member of USA Basketball's team that won the gold in Seoul in 1988. Although she made good money as a player, as the OC Register points out, she would have made far more if she was a male player. Because there was no professional team in the United States back then she played in France, Italy, Israel, Japan and Spain, usually earning more than $100,000 a year. In 1996, Brown took a pay cut to come back to the United States and play in the American Basketball League. Later she played for the WNBA's Detroit Shock and in Utah before retiring in 2000.
Starting last year, locals began to complain to the city that Brown was not maintaining the yard on her five-bedroom home. Brown tells the OC Register that her neighbors made false assumptions about her and did not like the fact that she is African American and a lesbian. She also said that she was unable to take care of the lawn because she had lost over $1 million in a real estate scam and was on the brink of foreclosure. She has been selling everything she can and has been trying to find work but earlier this summer the Villa Park City Council declared Cindy Brown's house a public nuisance. In July, city workers took over and put drought-tolerant plants in Brown's front yard at a cost of $5,500. The city obtained a warrant to come and water the property and the total city bill for fixing Brown's lawn eventually came to $12,516.
Brown has said that the city and local authorities refused to help her and has filed a civil suit, listing 100 defendants. Earlier this week the city approved putting a lien on Brown's property. Brown says her home, which is listed with an estimate debt of more than $910,000, is scheduled to be auctioned this weekend.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Annetteffect Sep 25th 2009 11:28PM
This situation is a shame on two counts. One is that yet another successful former athlete is suffering financial stress, a fate not uncommon with life after sport. Until financial management education and other support is provided consistently to retired athletes then this situation may continue and expand.
Another shame is that Cindy Brown appears not to take responsibility for anything with this matter. The sooner she can own up to her contribution to the problem, the sooner she can then take responsbility for finding a solution.
I wish her well and I hope that this story serves a purpose in sending out a message to athletes to prepare better for their own retirement.
florence Sep 26th 2009 12:59AM
You are right on. My sympathies are with Miss Brown if she truly is being snubbed by her neighbors, however, if she cannot afford this kind of home she needs to do the right thing and get it sold or give it back to the bank. She has been in a financial situation that did make her $100,000 a year. I know that is not much compared to some but it is alot more than others. Home ownership has not been easy for many people during this economic situation. Home ownership comes with responsibilities, and it sounds like she didnt live up to the financial obligation as well as the moral obligation to care for her home so that home values in her neighborhood would not be compromised. Life is really tough and sometimes we can not see our shortcomings. I think she needs to be honest with herself. Thanks for pointing that out.