This past weekend, I caught a screening of "Coach Carter." As predictable as the movie was, there were more messages handed out than one could handle. One that stood out was that athletes are not above the law and are not free to do whatever they please.

Although Ken Carter tried to teach the values, many NBA players missed out on the valuable lesson on their road to stardom.

I've had the privilege of reading "Out of Bounds: Inside the NBA's Culture of Rape, Violence and Crime" by Jeff Benedict. The book speaks exactly of it's title — the less-than-acceptable lifestyles of NBA players.

NBA stars spend a lot of time traveling and living out of hotel rooms. And besides the money and fame, playing in the NBA offers a lot of free time.

While some players choose to use this free time relaxing, playing video games or preparing for their next game, others choose to hang out at topless bars, night clubs and hotel lobbies. It's just the way it is.

According to Benedict's book, about 40 percent of NBA players have a serious criminal record. The stat is amazing because you hear of only a few of the arrests publicly.

But why do the players act above the law? Are they to blame or are those who roll out the red carpet for those on their way to stardom the ones to point fingers at?

Some players grow up in poverty level settings where they are surrounded by friends and family members hustling on street corners to make a dollar and see random acts of violence daily. To some, basketball is their only way to get out of that style of living.

Others get treated like royalty entering college. Receiving free food from local restaurants, free money from the university for "groceries" or the female groupies that will do anything for a man in a jersey.

Once entering the association, it gets even worse. More groupies and more benefits, rather "mo' money, mo' problems," as Christopher Wallace once said.

Not every baller can be like Dwyane Wade, Reggie Miller or Michael Redd, players who live honest lifestyles and use their stardom to an advantage of how to be famous and respectable at the same time.

One can only hope that a movie like "Coach Carter" can set our future straight. Just because you can put a ball in a hoop does not mean you have special privileges over the rest of society.