The story of a standout basketball talent does not always end in a fairytale. Sebastian Telfair was once a five-star recruit listed as the No. 2 point guard and No. 6 player in the nation in 2004. He even had the chance to play for Rick Pitino, but instead chose to turn pro. On the hardwood, he couldn’t find the success he once imagined, but off the court, in the past few years, the story has become even more grim. Which is why the former NBA star has called the POTUS and the NBA commissioner to intervene.

TMZ Sports has confirmed that the 40-year-old officially began his prison sentence this week. Why the jail time? Because of violating his supervised release in a healthcare fraud case. But before going in, Telfair used DJ Vlad’s platform to tell his story. In a new video, the host pointed out first about the pending financial claim hanging over Bassy’s head — an amount totaling $358,000. “So, is that what you owe in restitution?” asked Vlad.

Sebastian Telfair said, “Yes.” However, went on to explain his dilemma and his stance on this situation. “But who am I paying back? That’s the problem with this whole thing, where it took me some time, where like, ‘Ýeah, I got to go sit in jail for me to basically understand their conversation.’ This came out of my NBA account. Do the people understand that?” Telfair asked rhetorically.  

“I know y’all read it. Y’all be like, ‘Oh, this is healthcare fraud and this and that and that.’ I’m like, ‘No, this is coming out of Sebastian account for my paid services in the NBA.’ So, I’m paying back the $350- 380,000 to who now?” But, this is not the only question the former journeyman is seeking an answer to.

He expressed frustration over his recent legal troubles and lambasted the NBA for not stepping in. “I don’t know NBA, y’all not, y’all not out of it. Y’all gotta step in this.” Sebastian Telfair insisted he complied with all requirements but claimed authorities never accepted his efforts. “But I don’t look, I don’t want no smoke with them. You know what I’m saying? Because like I said, I ain’t do nothing. So it was time and time and time and time again, they was telling me, you know, ‘Go sign up, you know, for McDonald’s or something.’ You know what I’m saying? I was telling them and showing them what I was doing. And that s— just basically backfired on me.”

It was not just Telfair, but other former stars, Glen “Big Baby” Davis, Will Bynum, Keyon Dooling, Terrence Williams, and Alan Anderson, were all sentenced to stints in prison over the past couple of years for their respective roles in the case. Sebastian has served short jail stints before, but said this six-month term will be his longest incarceration.

Sebastian Telfair makes a plea to Donald Trump as his last effort

The 40-year-old added that dealing with the State and Federal laws confused him, and thus the current situation. But he knows that he put himself in this situation. “I’m definitely mad I put myself in this situation,” he said. That’s why, before going in, the 10-year veteran made sure that Trump heard about his case. “Trump, go check in on my story, and you’re definitely going to want to pardon me,” he said during the interview on the streets of New York.

“You’ll hold me accountable and want me to continue to go do good. But I did too good to being sending anybody to jail.” This is not where the story ends. Further, Telfair even claimed that the situation was “super unfair”. “I know Donald Trump’s got some big things going on, but Donald Trump, I need you to come holla’ … give your boy a pardon so I could stay home with my baby.” In his plea to Donald Trump, Sebastian Telfair also shared that he has plans to write a book, and he was documenting his story.

So far, there is no response from the POTUS or the NBA commissioner, Adam Silver.