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Rafer Alston, now coach and AD, is sued for strip club fight

In May, former NBA and And 1 Mixtape Tour star Rafer Alston was hired as the new head basketball coach and athletic director at Christian Life Center Academy, a school in the Houston area.

Former Heat guard Rafer Alston
Former Heat guard Rafer Alston

Given the "Christian Life" part of the school's name, it might want to re-think having Alston serve as the face of its athletic department after a brawl at a New York-area strip club landed Alston on the receiving end of a nasty lawsuit.

According to the New York Post, UPI and a handful of other outlets, Alston is being sued by Milford, Conn., 31-year-old Erick Franceschini, whom Alston reportedly beat over the head with a beer bottle during a wild melee in July of 2010. The altercation between the two men allegedly began inside Perfection Gentlemen's Club in Queens, but spilled into the streets outside shortly thereafter.

Franceschini filed a police report about the incident, but Alston -- who last played in the NBA with the Miami Heat in the 2009-10 season -- was never arrested in connection with the fight.

"My client had 12 staples in his head," Franceschini's attorney, John Rapaway, told UPI. "He suffered a concussion."

Whether or not Alston is deemed to be responsible for compensation to Franceschini remains to be seen. What could be a larger concern for his future is that, as of a year ago, he was still frequenting strip clubs and engaging in fights with other patrons.

Of course, Alston may or may not have been intoxicated at the time, but considering the fact that a beer bottle was the "weapon" used in the assault, it seems like a distinct possibility.

It's possible that the lawsuit will have no bearing whatsoever on Alston's future with Christian Life Center Academy. Perhaps he even disclosed the fight to school officials before he was hired. However, if that isn't the case, one would imagine that Pastor Richard Rodriguez, who is the top official at Christian Life Center Academy, might want to discuss it with him.

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