Amari Bailey’s NBA career has stalled so much that the player is looking to return to the NCAA three years after being selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft.
For the 21-year-old point guard who last played for the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League, this isn’t such a big ask. It’s not like people several years older than him are not currently playing in college sports. Seven college football players were 25 or older this past season.
But today, we are taking a look at who Bailey’s parents are, as he prepares for a return to school.
Who Are Amari Bailey’s Parents?
Bailey was primarily raised by his mother, Johanna Leia, a former Ford and Wilhelmina model and a social media influencer. She grew in prominence in 2017 when appearing alongside Amari Bailey on “Bringing Up Ballers, “a reality show which followed female entrepreneurs and mothers of young basketball players trying to make it into the NBA.
They share an extremely close relationship, which the player described as follows on 2020’s Mother’s Day:
“Thank you for having those conversations that I didn’t always wanna hear or have and thank you for keeping our beautiful family as one unit.
“Not a lot of people know about our roller coast [sic] journey… Your resiliency is more admirable in my life and day to day than you may know. Thank you for always being a shoulder I can cry. Our best friend relationship throws many off but I wouldn’t want it any other way tbh.”
His father is former NFL wide receiver Aaron Bailey, his mother’s ex-partner, who hasn’t been a constant fixture in his life.
Amari Bailey’s Case for a Return to the NCAA
Amari Bailey’s argument for a return to collegiate play is simple. He left school too early, and at this point, nobody would blink an eye if he had continued at the NCAA level until he was a senior. Here’s what he said this week on the matter.
“Right now I’d be a senior in college,” Bailey told ESPN. “I’m not trying to be 27 years old playing college athletics. No shade to the guys that do; that’s their journey. But I went to go play professionally and learned a lot, went through a lot. So, like, why not me?”
He’s using legal means to achieve his goal of returning. Bailey only played for one season at UCLA before being drafted by the Hornets. It’s clear, however, that the NCAA is against the move, with both President Charlie Baker and Senior Vice President of external affairs Tim Buckley saying recently that the governing body would be against a return of professional players to college.
However, the league was unable to prevent the return of NBA G-League player Charles Bediako to Alabama this season, after he challenged the NCAA’s rules in state court and won an injunction. Buckley has called for Congress to legislate on the matter and close the loop.
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