Footage of an NBA player's stupid arrest for giving a false name has finally been released

NBA players often exhibit the most questionable behavior, which is a nice way of saying they act stupid.

One of the weakest bulbs in the drawer is current New York Knicks player Cameron Payne.

The 30-year-old, a former Philadelphia 76ers player, was arrested earlier this year for one of the most confusing reasons for arrests of athletes. As far as all-time moments go, Payne's arrest is on par with Gilbert Arenas' arrest after he was caught hauling 100 pounds. of fireworks.

Payne called police to his Scottsdale, Arizona residence regarding a domestic dispute. Tensions subsided and Payne began arguing with the police officers (whom he alerted), resulting in the officers requesting basic information to document the domestic distress.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – MAY 2: Cameron Payne #22 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on before the game against the New York Knicks during Round 1, Game 6 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs at the Wells Fargo Center on May 2, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

Purely for documentation purposes, the cops told Payne.

But instead of cooperating, Cameron Payne looked for a pseudonym and ended up with “Terry Johnson”.

“No, that’s my fake name. Can you please leave?” Payne reportedly said to the SPD officer, adding, “If you want to arrest me for giving you a fake name, congratulations.”

Now that it's not entirely legal to give police officers a fake name, Payne was eventually handcuffed and accused of giving false information to authorities.

Now bodycam footage of the June 14 arrest has been released, and part of the joy that unfolded at the scene was officers' reaction to the seemingly strange reason for Payne's arrest.

“You can do that, but if you'd rather not do it, I'd have to arrest you,” an officer responded as Payne considered revealing his alias.

“Just do what you do, Terry Johnson,” Payne’s friend advised her NBA friend.

When asked about his date of birth, Cam Payne's poker face gave the wrong answer.

“I'm going to check this out because it looks like you just made up a birthday,” the officer said in the video.

When the true details emerged, Scottsdale officials acknowledged how “stupidly” Payne reacted. In her own words, Payne was “five minutes” away from officers leaving her apartment after responding to the player's call.

“Alright, you're under arrest for giving a false name. That was stupid,” the officer explained.

“That was the stupidest way to get arrested, man… I've seen people get arrested for stupid things and this is at the top of the list.”

The second officer continued, “Dude, you realize you could have told us your real name and we would have been gone five minutes ago and now you're going to jail.”

Play stupid games; Win stupid prizes…Identity theft is no joke, Mr. Johnson!

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