Richardson Now Admits He Used Cocaine, Agent Says; No Further Action Is Planned

Micheal Ray Richardson now admits he used cocaine, the agent for the New Jersey Nets’ former guard said Wednesday.

“You’ve got to understand, denial is a major part of the illness,” Charles Grantham said, reflecting on Richardson’s insistence Tuesday that he was clean, when urinalysis said he wasn’t.

“After hours of spending some time with him, talking with him, he admitted his drug use. Therefore, we will not contest the validity of the NBA’s action. That seals it,” Grantham said of Richardson’s suspension by Commissioner David Stern.

Richardson, an eight-year pro, four-time All-Star and, last season, the NBA’s Comeback Player of the Year, won’t be back for at least two years--if at all.

“We are talking about someone who is ill,” Grantham said. “He has agreed to go back in for rehabilitation and therapy. My immediate concern is for Micheal’s welfare as a person. He’s going to deal with this problem for a long, long time--forever. Of major importance is that he get his life back in order.”

Grantham said Richardson was at home in Mahwah, N.J., and that his legal problems with his wife, Leah, had been resolved, with all charges dropped.

They involved disorderly conduct, property damage, simple assault, threatening behavior and violations of a domestic violence statute, all stemming from an altercation last week when Richardson discovered his wife had obtained a court order barring him from their property. As a result of that altercation, the Nets ordered the drug test, which turned up positive.