Former MSU basketball player Jason Richardson is facing a possible suspension for the beginning of the NBA regular season, league officials announced Monday.

Richardson, a forward for the Golden State Warriors entering his third professional season, was convicted on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge Aug. 28. He would face the suspension largely because of the guilty ruling rendered in his trial.

The league has not disclosed how severe the suspension would be but that it would likely be effective for the beginning of the regular season. Richardson joins Sacramento Kings forward Chris Webber on the league's possible suspension docket for pleading guilty to lying to a grand jury concerning his involvement with former U-M booster Ed Martin.

Webber, who currently is rehabilitating a knee injured in the NBA Playoffs this past spring, would face suspension after his knee has healed.

Jeffery A. Taylor, Richardson's attorney, said the propensity for the NBA to alter its decision existed. A Michigan statute allowing the judge to reverse convictions in misdemeanor domestic violence cases would be examined in Saginaw County District Court, Taylor said.

He was an All-American for the Spartans and the fifth overall pick of the NBA Draft in 2001.

Patrick Walters