Alando Tucker is unlike most pro athletes

It’s a rarity that you find a pro athlete that can make the claim that Phoenix Suns’ guard Alando Tucker can.

Tucker has never had a drink, gotten a tattoo or smoked a cigarette and for good reason.

We [Alando and his brother] saw a lot growing up – gang activity, murders, a lot of guys getting killed and a lot of people dying from drug use. I have friends that have died and even in college I’d hear every other week about a friend or someone I grew up with getting killed or dying. A lot of times we’d hear gunshots and be scared for our lives. We had a two-floor house that we lived in and after 8 at night we had to be upstairs because we were scared that a stray bullet could come through the window.

Gangs like the Gangster Disciples, Vice Lords and the Latin Kings were all around where I grew up. From them, you had other little groups breaking off to form their own little gangs. It was all within a matter of blocks, too. If you went down the street a few blocks there’d be one gang and if you kept going a few more blocks there’d be another. And sometimes you’d have to walk through it to get to school.

Tucker describes all of his hardships growing up in Chicago over on Suns.com. It’s a pretty powerful story and refreshing to hear an athlete who isn’t out “making it rain” or getting a DUI for one reason or another.

Check out Alando’s blog over at Suns.com.

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