When keepin’ it real goes tragically wrong for a Rivals 100 cager

Back on April 22 of this year, Tony Farmer was a rising senior at Garfield Heights High School in Ohio who had the world at his large feet. The 6′7″ hoopster was ranked the 86th best player in the country by Rivals and was on track to land a nice scholly at pretty much the college of his choice.

Then came the morning of the 23rd, and I’ll let the Cleveland Plain Dealer provide the details of how he threw it all away:

Maria Russo, spokeswoman for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, said as Farmer’s ex-girlfriend, who is also 18, left her residence off Rockside Road around 6:45 a.m., Farmer confronted her, demanding to talk.

The two began arguing and yelling when Farmer, who is 6 feet 7 and 220 pounds, then assaulted her, Russo said according to the police report. Farmer then took her cellphone, a bank card, a laptop computer and her car keys.

Bedford Heights police said nearby residents heard the fighting and arguing and called 9-1-1. Police later arrested Farmer, who had left.

He was also indicted on a kidnapping charge because, according to the report, he “by force, threat or deception, purposely removed the victim from the place where she was found or restrained her liberty for the purpose of terrorizing or inflicting serious physical harm.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

What made it worse for Farmer is that the incident was caught on camera inside the apartment building of the victim, Andrea Lane. Seeing a videotape of a prospective Big 10 small forward dragging a girl around by her hair won’t illicit much sympathy on behalf of prosecutors.

This was the scene yesterday when Farmer’s sentence was handed down:

Yup, this is the look of stunned disbelief that comes across the face of a blue chip recruit who’s pissed it all away because he kept to too real:

I’m surprised that during the outburst of sobbing from his family, his mother didn’t scream, “Baby, why did you keep it that real?!? WHY DID YOU KEEP IT THAT REAL?!?!?” This same scene is played out across courtrooms every day in this country, but when you add a dash of lost potential to the mix it makes this particular stew taste downright tragic.

So Tony Farmer becomes a cautionary tale for other highly ranked high school athletes out there who might have an air of invincibility courtesy of all the attention. A spot in the Rivals 100 is by no means a ticket to unlimited knuckleheadedness.