Amar’e Stoudemire has found an unusual post-basketball career: police officer.
On Wednesday, Miami Dade College announced that Stoudemire graduated from the MDC School of Justice Basic Law Enforcement Academy. Stoudemire also received the Harry “Coach” Everett Award for “his contributions to the success of the academy program throughout his training.”
“It’s something I always wanted to do since I was a kid,” Stoudemire, 43, told Sports Illustrated in an interview. “I remember back when I was in grade school, elementary school. They asked you on career day, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” And my initial response was a police officer. It runs in the family. My uncle was a captain. His brother was a deputy. My cousin is a captain. My sister’s in the academy. So, it’s a family tradition, basically.”
The 2026 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee’s next step will be in-house training with the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department, he told Sports Illustrated.
This isn’t the first time an NBA star has pursued a career in law enforcement. Shaquille O’Neal trained with the Los Angeles Port Police and became a reserve officer in Miami Beach. He has also been sworn in as a reserve officer in Doral, Florida, and as a sheriff’s deputy in Jonesboro, Georgia.
