http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/14/2406810/sarah-palin-and-miami-heats-glen.htmlIt’s almost old news now that a tell-all new book about Sarah Palin claims she had a one-night stand with former Miami Heat great Glen Rice back in 1987.
At the time, she was single and working at a television station as a sports reporter; Rice was a college basketball star visiting Alaska to play in a tournament.
The salacious revelation became an Internet sensation on Wednesday.
But there are other more serious allegations in the new book by Joe McGinniss due out later this month. According to the National Enquirer, the author alleges that people who know Sarah and her husband Todd revealed that the couple used cocaine and that Palin committed adultery.
The book recounts an incident when the Palins snorted cocaine off an overturned 55-gallon oil drum during a snowmobile trip before she became governor of Alaska, the National Enquirer reported. It also alleges Palin had an affair with her husband’s former business partner.
But her romantic encounter with Rice — who was some three years younger and a junior in college — caused the most buzz though the day.
Rice and Palin could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Palin’s Facebook page and Twitter account also were mum about the allegations.
At the time, the former Alaska governor, now 47, was single, just out of college and working at Anchorage TV station KTUU. Rice, 44, who lives in Coral Gables, was a promising basketball player at the University of Michigan.
Their encounter occurred while Rice was in Anchorage attending a basketball tournament and Palin apparently covered the event. Months later, in 1988, Palin eloped with Todd Palin, her high school sweetheart. The two are still married.
The tabloid reported that at the time, the 23-year-old Palin had a “fetish” about black men.
The 6-7 guard/forward was the Heat’s first real star and led Miami to its first playoff series against the Chicago Bulls. Rice was the first Heat player to average 20 points per game in a season.
Rice averaged 18.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in 1,000 regular season games with the Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers.
Rice’s best stretch was with the Charlotte Hornets in the 1996-1997 season when he was third in the league in scoring behind Michael Jordan and Karl Malone averaging 26 points per game.
In 2008, after his retirement, Rice was arrested in Miami on suspicion of felony battery in a domestic incident involving his estranged wife, Cristy, who eventually became one of The Real Housewives of Miami on Bravo.
Police say he assaulted a man that he found hiding in her closet. Rice surrendered to police and was released after posting $5,000 bond. Charges were later dropped. The couple divorced.
McGinniss’ book called, The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin, is set to be released Tuesday. In an unusual move, McGinniss rented a house next door to the Palins in her hometown of Wasilla, Alaska, while researching and writing his book.
McGinniss figures prominently in an episode of her recent reality television show, Sarah Palin’s Alaska, where she complains about him as a neighbor, and says of his interest in her life: "It’s just none of his flippin’ business."
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