The former NBA prospect and “semi-pro” actor will spend the rest of his life in prison after being found guilty of a series of violent sexual assaults dating back to 2015.
Rashid Bird, 42, was sentenced to 90 years to life in prison on Friday after his arrest in 2020. Los Angeles police had been investigating the incident after receiving a tip from one of the victims the previous year.
Byrd was arrested on September 18, 2020, and held on $4.15 million bail pending conviction.
The LAPD investigation revealed “a series of violent sexual assaults that occurred in Los Angeles County and Santa Clara County from 2015 to 2020,” the LAPD said in a statement. in a statement Friday.
Bird, who went undrafted in the 2003 NBA Draft, has two previous sexual assault convictions, one in 2010 involving another victim.
“Detectives also discovered that Byrd had been arrested in Washington state in 2005 for sexually assaulting a young woman,” the statement said.
The 7-foot-1-inch center, real name Rashid Byrd Hardwick, also tried acting while pursuing a basketball career because authorities said he would charm his victims.
“What started out as a glamorous figure, showing off his status as an athlete and pseudo-celebrity, quickly degenerated into rape and violence,” said Los Angeles Police Department Detective Dara Brown.
Bird’s acting career began with several commercial appearances, and in 2008 he appeared in the Will Ferrell comedy “Semi-Pros,” playing a teammate of the comedian’s Flint Tropics.
He also appeared in the 2009 documentary Bring Your ‘A’ Game, which starred Mario Van Peebles, Ice Cube, and Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Bird signed with both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings, but never appeared in an NBA game.
He played in 21 games for the Lakers’ developmental team (he was drafted by the Los Angeles D-Fenders at the time) and the Houston Rockets’ Rio Grande Valley Vipers during the 2008-2009 D-League season.
Bird played 299 minutes and scored 99 points that season. According to Eurobasket.com.
He also served several stints in Europe; According to KTLA.
The Los Angeles Police Department celebrated Friday’s verdict and said it was grateful Byrd would remain in prison.
“The Los Angeles Police Department is grateful to the brave women who came forward to tell their stories,” Brown added. “This investigation has been going on for years, and we are grateful that Byrd is no longer on the streets.
Brown noted that the LAPD is working to contact all of Byrd’s victims, but asked that “anyone with information about Byrd’s crimes contact him.” .
