Expulsion From Iowa and ABL/Globetrotter/ABA Years
As a result of the investigation, despite not being charged or arrested, Hawkins was expelled from Iowa. No other college — either in the NCAA or NAIA — would offer him a scholarship. NBA Commissioner J. Walter Kennedy let it be known that he would not approve any contract for Hawkins to play in the league. At the time, the NBA had a policy barring players who were even remotely involved with point-shaving scandals. As a result, when his class was eligible for the draft in 1964, no team selected him. He went undrafted in 1965 as well before being formally banned from the league in 1966.
With the major professional basketball league having effectively blacklisted him, Hawkins played one season for the Pittsburgh Rens of the American Basketball League and was named the league's Most Valuable Player. When that league folded, Hawkins spent three years performing with the Harlem Globetrotters.
During the time Hawkins was traveling with the Globetrotters, he filed a $6 million lawsuit against the NBA, claiming the league had unfairly banned him from participation and that there was no substantial evidence linking him to gambling activities. Hawkins's lawyers suggested that he participate in the new American Basketball Association as a way to show that he was talented enough to participate in the NBA.
Hawkins joined the Pittsburgh Pipers in the inaugural 1967–68 season of the American Basketball Association, leading the team to a 54–24 regular-season record and the 1968 ABA championship. Hawkins led the ABA in scoring that year and won both the ABA's regular-season and playoff MVP awards.
The Pipers moved to Minnesota for the 1968–69 season, and injuries limited Hawkins to 47 games. Hawkins had surgery on his knee. The Pipers made the playoffs despite injuries to their top four players, but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
The NBA settled with Hawkins after the 1968–69 season, paying him a cash settlement of nearly $1.3 million, and assigned his rights to the expansion Phoenix Suns.
Read more about this topic: Connie Hawkins
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