There are plenty of rather personal stories shared on television, but only a few of them come from former NBA players. In an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Network’s Iyanla: Fix My Life that aired last week, former NBA player Jason Maxiell (who played for the Detroit Pistons from 2005-13 and also spent time with the Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets and overseas teams, plus appeared in the BIG3 this summer) told his wife Brandi and host Iyanla Vanzant (who the show’s Wikipedia entry describes as a “Yoruba priestess, life coach and relationship expert”) that he’d slept with 341 women:
In front of wife Brandi Maxiell, Jason admitted to sleeping with “more than 50” other women during their marriage. That led to Brandi, who told Vanzant she’d been under the impression Maxiell had cheated on her eight times during their marriage, storming off the set:
However, while the airing of this episode brought this news to the world, Brandi Maxiell actually got it a long time ago. After the episode aired, she told VH1’s “The Shade Room” that this episode was taped a year ago, and that she’s been working to improve things for her son and herself since then:
“Thank you all for the well wishes and prayers. Jason, Baby Jason and I needed that.
“I would like to say I’m more frustrated with him blurting out a number to the world without no regard for my feelings. 8 put a damper on our relationship and I was willing to work on it. Over 50 tore it down!
“My focus is and has been since we went on this show a year ago, is to shift my ENTIRE life from being a great wife and mother into being the best mother & person I can be! I’m aware that my son will someday come across this video and witness what the man of his life has done to his mother & how I stood by and basically did nothing. Therefore, I have to prepare myself for that conversation with him ‘without lies’ but with compassion for my son. I’m going to use very detail of my upbringing, my illness, my marriage, my life good or bad, to raise my child to learn how to first love & respect God, himself, women & all of God’s creations.”
Brandi Maxiell is a former cast member on Basketball Wives. She overcame an ovarian cancer diagnosis in 2007. Jason Maxiell, 35, officially retired from the NBA last year after signing a one-day contract with the Pistons. He was chosen in the second round of the BIG3 draft this year by 3’s Company, and helped them to the championship game (where they lost to Power). Here are some of his season highlights:
But Maxiell arguably got even more attention for this OWN clip than for anything did on the court this year.