Former basketball star Richard Jefferson makes startling claim about MLB players' covert infidelities, compares culture with NBA 

Former basketball star Richard Jefferson played 17 seasons in the NBA. During that time, the 6-foot-7 small forward has received All-Rookie and All-American distinctions, in addition to an NBA championship.

The son of Christian missionaries, Jefferson was born in Los Angeles, but raised in Arizona. After representing the USA at the 2004 Summer Olympics, Jefferson signed with the Nets in 2004.

"Aug 5, 2015 #Cavs sign Richard Jefferson" - Across the Cavs

Since retiring in 2018, Richard Jefferson has embraced a role in media. He has been an analyst at YES Network and ESPN, and has also released several independent podcasts and interviews.

In a recent interview, Jefferson went off on MLB players' private lives. His comments came as part of a discussion on New Orleans Pelicans player Zion Williamson, who has been embroiled in a controversy ever since being accused of infidelity by an adult actress earlier this summer.

While the case of Zion Williamson has attracted a lot of attention. Jefferson, however, defended basketball players, saying that MLB players get up to plenty of scandals themselves. Speaking of MLB indiscretions, Jefferson alleged:

"Baseball players, man, they’ve been flying under the radar for way too long and I know way too much"

In a tongue-in-cheek fashion, Jefferson then went on to threaten to "spill the beans" on what he knows. This prompted the interviewer to float the name of New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton as someone who might be "breaking hearts" off of the field.

Though unrelated, Richard Jefferson's comments come on the heels of bombshell reports involving Tampa Bay Rays infielder Wander Franco. According to multiple sources, Franco was romantically involved with a 14 year-old girl who is now teaming up with her mother to bring legal proceedings against the former All-Star.

Richard Jefferson's claims are impossible to quantify

While the NBA certainly has a bad reputation, baseball players in 2023 are working hard to ensure that changes. Pre-game drunkenness, spousal abuse, and now relations with minors have all made headlines around the baseball world in 2023.

Regardless of what league hosts more debauched behavior from its players is impossible to know. What is sure is that for fans, especially young ones, pro athletes have a responsibility to uphold a semblance of professionalism and good character, Unfortunately, both of those things have been sorely lacking in the modern state of both the NBA and the MLB, alongside most other pro leagues.