Former NBA player Jim Farmer arrested in human trafficking sting after agreeing to pay $170 for sex with 16-year-old
Jim Farmer, a former NBA player and one-time University of Alabama basketball standout, is reportedly facing a human trafficking charge in Tennessee. According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the 55-year-old Franklin, Tennessee, resident was among 16 men arrested on charges of soliciting sex from underage children.
The men were reportedly arrested during a two-day sting operation that began October 24, according to a statement from the agency. On October 25, Farmer responded to an escort advertisement for meeting a juvenile for sex, per an arrest affidavit.
A female undercover officer posed as a 16-year-old girl while talking to him. According to the affidavit, Farmer agreed to pay $170 to have sex with the girl. Authorities reported how Farmer arrived at a location agreed by the two and found himself surrounded by police before they arrested him on one count of trafficking of sexual servitude.
The same day, he was booked into the Rutherford County jail and was released on a $75,000 bond Tuesday, The Tennessean reports. Farmer is due in court for a hearing on the charge November 13, per a Rutherford County court clerk.
Farmer last played in the NBA in 1994, when he was with the Denver Nuggets and has since worked as a country music singer and model. During his time with the league, he also played for Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Seattle SuperSonics and Philadelphia 76ers over six total seasons.
At university, Farmer was a leading scorer before he was selected in the first round of the NBA draft in 1987. Farmer has also posed for a number of magazine covers and has appeared in commercials for big brands such as Nike, Sony and Twix bars.
After a successful career in professional basketball, Farmer entered the country music scene in the early 2000s. During that time, he released a 10-song record titled 'Baby Come On'.
Furthermore, he has also been part of a country band named Sawyer Brown. "I believe he’s better at music than he is at basketball, and that’s really saying something," T. K. Kimbrell, the band's manager, once said on his website.