On the first episode of ‘The Lockdown’, host Alex Scantlebury speaks with former Kansas City Royals’ slugger Willie Mays Aikens about his career, crack cocaine, mandatory minimums, finding God, and the 14 years he spent behind bars.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts| Google Play | TuneIn | Stitcher
Show notes:
- On using cocaine after every game of the World Series [3:26]
- What it was like being released by the Toronto Blue Jays, and going to play in Mexico [7:36]
- Relapsing after three years sober and getting into crack cocaine [9:20]
- Undercover police officers, and entrapment for a more serious crime [14:15]
- Learning about being sentenced to 20 years in prison [16:00]
- On being sent to the infamous Leavenworth maximum security prison [20:30]
- The first night behind bars, and his first impressions of prison [21:12]
- How the other inmates treated him as a former Major League slugger [22:25]
- Finding God and Christianity while incarcerated [24:15]
- On developing a better relationship with his children, and learning how to be a real father [ 29:16]
- On being released, and how the world had changed while incarcerated [32:14]
- Being sought out by George Brett, and finding stability on the outside [40:15]
- Dayton Moore, and the Kansas City Royals organization bringing him back in the fold [42:15]
Additional Reading:
- “Gaps in the Road.” ESPN.
- “Letter to My Younger Self.” Players’ Tribune.
- “Kansas City Royals hire Willie Aikens as minor league coach.” ESPN.
- “Willie Mays Aikens.” The Sentencing Project.
- “Cal Ripken Jr. asks for clemency for Willie Mays Aikens.” The Sentencing Project.
- “Former Baseball Star Willie Aikens Testifies Before Congress on Crack Cocaine Disparity.” Huffington Post.
