Mourning Gets Kidney Transplant

Former NBA All-Star center Alonzo Mourning underwent kidney transplant surgery Friday and was in good condition.

The surgery at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia hospital came less than a month after Mourning retired because of a kidney disease.

The kidney donor, a family member, also was in good condition.

“Alonzo asks that all those who offered to donate a kidney to him extend that generosity to others who are waiting for transplants,” his agent, Jeffrey Wechsler, said in a statement released after the surgery was completed.

Mourning, 33, retired from the New Jersey Nets on Nov. 24 because of complications from the disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. He was diagnosed before the 2000-01 season, when he was with the Miami Heat.

Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, known as FSGS, affects the filters of the kidney that remove toxins from the blood.

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Troubled forward Eddie Griffin was released by the Houston Rockets.

Griffin, suspended since mid-October, faces an assault charge related to allegations of a fight with a woman.

“This has been very disappointing for our franchise,” Rocket General Manager Carroll Dawson said. “We had high hopes for Eddie and still feel that he has the ability to be a very good player in this league if he gets his personal issues resolved.”

Griffin was suspended Oct. 16 for a series of missed practices and a skipped flight to Sacramento. That month, he checked into a hospital to get help for undisclosed problems.