NBA Urges Players to Enhance Home Security Following High-Profile Burglaries

The NBA has recently issued a stark warning to its players about the rising threat of burglaries targeting professional athletes, urging them to take additional measures to protect their homes. The memo, which was sent to teams across the league, follows a string of high-profile burglaries that have made headlines in recent months.

Among the athletes affected by these break-ins are NBA stars Mike Conley of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Bobby Portis of the Milwaukee Bucks, as well as NFL players Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs. These burglaries appear to follow a troubling pattern, with thieves often striking while the players are away for games, leaving their homes unprotected.

One of the key insights from the NBA's memo is that, in many cases, the homes of these athletes were equipped with alarm systems that were not properly activated at the time of the break-ins. To prevent such incidents from occurring in the future, the NBA has advised players to update their home security systems, remove public listings of their properties, and consider adding guard dogs as an additional layer of protection.

The league's memo also emphasized the importance of vetting contractors who are working on players' homes. This follows suspicions that some of these burglaries may be linked to well-organized criminal rings operating out of South America, which are known for using sophisticated techniques like pre-surveillance, drones, and even signal-jamming devices.

In addition to protecting physical property, the primary target of these thefts appears to be valuables such as cash, jewelry, watches, and designer handbags, items that can easily be resold on the black market. For athletes, whose schedules often keep them away from home, the risk of being targeted during travel has become an alarming reality.

While these high-profile burglaries serve as a reminder of the importance of robust home security, they also raise broader concerns about the vulnerability of luxury homeowners and athletes to organized crime. Whether it's updating security systems, utilizing guard dogs, or carefully vetting contractors, these preventative steps are becoming more crucial than ever in safeguarding homes and personal belongings from theft.

Source: ABC7