Attorneys: Injuries to Hawks’ Parsons are career-threatening

Chandler Parsons’ attorneys say the Atlanta Hawks forward suffered “severe and permanent injuries” in a car wreck last week that could jeopardize his career.

Attorneys John Morgan and Nick Panagakis of the firm Morgan & Morgan say the injuries Parsons suffered in a Jan. 15 crash include a traumatic brain injury, disk herniation and a torn labrum. Parsons was leaving practice when he was hit by a driver who the attorneys say was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.

Sgt. John Chafee of the Atlanta Police Department told The Associated Press that the police report was not available Jan. 20 because the public affairs unit was closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday.

The Hawks said last week that Parsons suffered a concussion and whiplash. The team has added “associated disk injury” to his list of injuries.

Parsons remains in the concussion protocol and was not with the team for Jan. 20’s game against Toronto. He was not on the bench for the team’s last two games against San Antonio and Detroit.

Parsons’ attorneys said in a statement released Jan. 20 that the other driver “admitted drinking, had alcohol in the car with him” and “passed out” following the crash. The attorneys say the driver, who was not identified, is responsible for “seriously injuring and potentially ending Mr. Parsons’ career as a professional athlete.”

The 31-year-old Parsons, acquired from Memphis last summer, has played five games for the Hawks. He is averaging 2.8 points and is making more than $25 million in the final year of his contract.

College football

EX-HOUSTON QB TO TRANSFER TO MIAMI » Former Houston quarterback D’Eriq King announced Jan. 20 that he is transferring to Miami, a significant get for the Hurricanes as they try to bounce back from a 6-7 season.

King played in four games for Houston this past season before announcing in late September that he would take the rest of 2019 off and redshirt to preserve eligibility for 2020.

“Story is still being written...” King wrote in a tweet announcing the move.

Later Jan. 20, Miami landed another graduate transfer in former Temple defensive end Quincy Roche.

Roche had 49 tackles and 13 sacks last season for Temple. He ranked No. 5 nationally in sacks per game — three spots behind Miami’s Gregory Rousseau, who was No. 2 in the country at 1.19 sacks per game in his redshirt freshman season.