Rasual Butler’s death is hitting the NBA hard — with his friends and former teammates sending their condolences to Butler’s family. Miami Heat — “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Rasual Butler and his wife, Leah LaBelle. Our sincere…
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Rasual Butler, Former NBA Guard, Dies in Car Crash
Very sad news today out of the sports world:
Rasual Butler, a veteran former NBA shooting guard who played for eight teams over the course of his career, died this morning in a one-car accident.
He was 38 years old.
According to TMZ, the fatal crash took place around 2 a.m. in Studio City, California after Butler lost control of his Range Rover.
The vehicle reportedly flipped over, struck a parking meter and crashed into a wall.
No official report has been filed, but police believe the car was speeding prior to the accident.
Butler’s wife, Leah LaBelle, also died in the wreck.
A singer signed to Epic Record, she finished in 12th place on season three of American Idol back in 2004.
Here is a picture of the late couple:
Butler was drafted in the second round by the Miami Heat in 2002.
He finished his career with a three-point shooting percentage of 36, while averaging 7.5 points per game.
He last played in the NBA for the San Antonio Spurs in 2016 and last played at all professionally for Ice Cube’s BIG3 league just last year.
In response to the tragic news, current and former NBA players took to Twitter in order to express their condolences.
Wrote Matt Barnes: “Rip to the homie Rasual Butler & his wife!! Condolences to the butler family & friends. Damn Bro.”
And Marcin Gortat: “Omg….. RIP Rasual Butler :(( terrible News.”
And Marcus Camby: “Rip my brother.”
And Damon Jones: “RIP @RasualButler45!! GOD please be with his kids and family during this difficult time!”
LaBelle, meanwhile, rose to viral fame by sharing a number of cover videos on YouTube.
She auditioned for American Idol in New York City, at the age of 17 singing “I Believe in You and Me”, a song popularized by Whitney Houston.
The aspiring artist received a golden ticket to Hollywood, meaning she was one of the more impressive hopefuls early on.
In the end, however, LaBelle fell just short of making the Top 10, which would have earned her a spot in the live performance episodes.
She was brought back for the wild card show and was selected by Paula Abdul to advance to the finals.
After performing during the Top 12’s soul Week, LaBelle received the lowest amount of votes and was eliminated from the show, thereby not qualifying for the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2004.
May both LaBelle and Butler rest in peace.
Nicole Eggert Headed to L.A. to File Police Report Against Scott Baio
Nicole Eggert is on her way back to L.A. and she’s beelining it for the police department to file a sexual battery report against Scott Baio. Nicole was leaving the Peninsula Hotel in NYC Wednesday when our photog asked if she was going to pull the…
Ami Brown Looks SO Much Better and Cancer-Free!
Only very recently has Ami Brown revealed the good news about her cancer. We imagine that she wanted to wait a while to be sure before announcing that she is effectively cancer-free.
Now, Rain Brown — the family’s de facto spokesperson despite being barely 15 years old — has shared the first new photo of Ami since the good news.
Fans agree that Ami looks so much better.
There was a time when Ami’s odds of survival were believed to be lower than 10%.
She had lung cancer. It head spread to both lungs and to her spine.
Her entire family had to uproot themselves and travel to L.A. so that they could cater to Ami’s needs, living close to the hospital where Ami receives her chemo treatments and living in a house where Ami could recover from the rigors of chemo and radiation therapy.
Fans of Alaskan Bush People had been hanging on to the story of Ami’s battle for her life. But for a while there, things looked bleak. And not just to fans.
Even the family’s youngest, Rain Brown, admitted that she didn’t know if her mom was going to make it.
The news that she was fully in remission is extremely welcome to fans. it was even more of a relief to Ami’s family.
Before the news even broke, officially, some fans wondered if Ami Brown’s cancer was cured in a Christmas miracle.
(At the time, she was still dealing with health setbacks and was still quite sick; also, we won’t tell anyone what to believe, but it was probably a little early to qualify as a Christmas miracle)
After the announcement that she was doing so much better, some fans responded by wondering if Ami Brown had ever really had cancer to begin with.
She definitely did, folks. But now she’s doing so much better. Look!
Rain Brown captioned the photo:
“I would like to give a HUGE thanks to the @nasaarmstrong team They cleared the whole building for us, showed us around and even put a small gift bag of trinkets together for us! Literally speechless! #stayhappy #staystrong #nasa”
Rain also clarified that yes, she absolutely touched everything.
(We’ll go ahead and assume that this was okay)
In the photo, you can see other family members — including Bear and Gabe and Billy — but all eyes were on Ami Brown.
And Ami looks so much better!
She’s standing beside Billy and is wrapped in his arm — but she doesn’t appear to be leaning on him. She’s also out of her wheelchair.
There’s more to it than that, though. There’s a strength to the way that Ami’s standing.
We don’t mean that she’s ready to start bodybuilding any time soon, just that she no longer seems like she’s fighting to stand withe very breath.
If Ami had her wheelchair there and was only standing for the photo, then she’s doing one hell of an acting job.
As for the rest of the family present … Rain definitely looks the most stylish, but we like Birdy Brown’s jacket.
It’s been widely reported that the family has made its exodus from L.A. and is headed off to “parts unknown.” By which we mean Colorado. They’re in Colorado.
They traveled to their new homestead via caravan, including an RV.
Fans speculate that they are filming Season 8 in Colorado, though this wouldn’t be the first footage captured for the season.
We don’t know what their residential situation is in Colorado with their new homestead.
As we’ve learned from their time in Alaska, the “home” shown on the show isn’t always the same as the place where the family sleeps at night.
That’s reality TV for you.
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