Dwight Gooden retired in 2001. In the following decade, he had multiple run-ins with the law. The New York Times reported that he was charged with DUI in 2002, and in 2005, he got in trouble for physically harming his girlfriend. He made a confession that he was under the influence of cocaine, so his probation officer gave him two choices: prolong his probation or go to prison. Gooden chose incarceration.
While the former Yankee only served time for half a year, he admitted that it was an experience he would never dare repeat. “I’d rather get shot than come back here,” he told The New York Post (via ESPN). “If I don’t get the message this time, I never will.” Gooden was sent to a facility in Lake Butler, Florida, where he had to spend ten days alone in his cell, cut off outside access. “That was torture. It was like you’re an animal,” he recalled. He was later transferred to the Gainesville Correctional Institute, which was reportedly akin to a military barrack. “It’s been a humbling experience,” he added. “It’s like going from the top down to the bottom.”
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At the time, it really seemed like Gooden had reflected on his actions. “I look back at ’86 and I remember when that season was over, that’s when I first got started with cocaine,” he said. “Now here we are 20 years later … I’m in prison because of cocaine. It’s a sad story, really.”
