Auburn's Tahaad Pettiford, 19, arrested on DUI charge after 'getting $2m NIL deal to drop out of NBA Draft'
The 19-year-old's blood-alcohol level has not been revealed publicly, but anything above 0.02 is considered illegal in Alabama because he is underage. He has since posted a $1,000 bond and been released.
'We are aware of the situation, and we will handle internally with Tahaad and his family,' Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl said in a statement Saturday morning, according to the Montgomery Advertiser. 'We take these matters seriously and will learn and grow from it moving forward.'
The star sixth man for the Tigers ' Final Four team last season, Pettiford is considered an SEC Player of the Year candidate after averaging 11.6 points, 3.0 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 22.9 minutes in 38 games as a freshman.
He then averaged 15.2 points over five NCAA Tournament games, but was held to just 1-of-6 shooting in Auburn's Final Four loss to conference rival, Florida, the eventual champion.
Pettiford did test the NBA waters by going through the draft combine before deciding to return to Auburn in 2025-26 for what CBS Sports has reported to be a $2 million NIL deal.
His arrest comes at an awkward time for Pearl, who has been mentioned as a potential 2026 U.S. senate candidate in Alabama when former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville is expected to leave his seat on Capitol Hill to run for governor.
Auburn alum and former Republican Charles Barkley would support Pearl's U.S. Senatorial campaign if the outspoken supporter of Donald Trump and Israel ever ran for the office in Alabama .
'I respect and trust him,' the basketball legend and Inside the NBA co-host told AL.com . 'I just told him to do what he wants to do.'
Pearl recently made waves by publicly supporting Trump's decision to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities amid ongoing tensions between that country and Israel.
'Obviously, he's made Auburn basketball relevant, which makes me happy,' Barkley said. 'I said, 'Hey, man, as much as I love you being the head basketball coach at Auburn, you taking Auburn to two Final Fours, something I never thought would happen, but I do understand.'
'If he wants to run, I'm gonna support him 100 percent.'
Barkley also voiced his support for Pearl as a coach by mentioning Auburn's graduation rate.
'One thing I know about Bruce, he cares about his players,' Barkley said. 'He's graduated 100 percent of the players who stayed in school for four years, and he's proud of that.
'That was the first conversation we had when he first got the job. I said, 'Hey, man, I want Auburn to be great in basketball. I really do. But my number one priority is these young black kids getting their education. You're gonna have a couple guys who go pro, but most of these guys are gonna have to go out and be grown men. So, I know he cares about people and players.''
Pearl has not indicated any specific plans to run for Senate , but did staunchly support Trump's decision to bomb Iran. The 65-year-old Massachusetts native even went so far as to nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize because of that military action in Iran.
Although he is a former Republican, himself, Barkley does not support Trump. However, as he told AL.com, that doesn't disqualify Pearl from receiving his support.
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