Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Streetballer Troy "Escalade" Jackson Dies in L.A. Hotel Room

One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.

Troy Jackson, a streetballer nicknamed "Escalade," and the younger brother of ESPN analyst and former New York Knicks guard Mark Jackson "died in his sleep early Sunday morning while in Los Angeles for NBA All-Star Weekend," according to the Bleacher Report. He was 35.

Jackson, considered a "gentle giant" at 6'10" and 400 pounds, traveled the world playing with the Ball Up streetball team, the Harlem Globetrotters, and the And 1 Mixtape Tour, for the past decade. He played for Louisville from 1996 to 1998.

"His death sent shockwaves through the basketball community, especially among close friends of the Jackson family," notes the NY Daily News of the New York native. A representative from the Los Angeles County Coroner's office says Jackson was found unresponsive in his hotel room shortly before noon on Sunday. The cause of Jackson's death is unknown, and an autopsy is pending.

One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.

If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today