It appears Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown could be the latest professional athlete to be targeted by thieves.
It's still very much an active investigation, but a source close to the situation says police in Wellesley, Massachusetts, found a broken window Sunday at Brown's mother's house. Now they're investigating, searching for whoever is responsible.
Aside from the broken window, police said it did not appear as if anything had been disturbed inside the home, and nothing was taken from the home. Brown was not home at the time, but his mom and nephew were.
Brown was not home at the time, but his mom and nephew were. The Celtics were in Washington, D.C. for a game against the Wizards at the time of the incident.
"It's been a tough week," he told reporters at a press conference Thursday. "My mother's security is of utmost importance to me, and that's been compromised."
Returning to the court for the Celtics' game against the Bulls, Brown said the ordeal has weighed on him.
NBA
"Thank God nothing serious or physical or threatening happened, but the fact that it could have just kind of lingers in your mind," he said.
Wellesley police said in a statement Thursday morning, "We are vigorously investigating this breaking and entering, as we do all residential breaks. We continue to encourage residents to utilize their home security systems if they have them."
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NBC10 Boston spoke to a neighbor who said they overheard the break-in attempt.
"It was Sunday. We had just gotten home after celebrating the holiday in the city," she said. "My kids were inside. I went back out to the car to grab some things and heard glass break."
"It was really scary," the neighbor added. "My 3-year-old son was eating in the kitchen, and normally when you hear about these things you think they happen in the middle of the night."
Sources also tell us that the Newton residence of Celtics assistant coach Amile Jefferson was broken into on Sunday.
Newton police said they responded to a report of a residential break-in on Monday afternoon. No one was home at the time and they said a bunch of jewelry was stolen from the home.
And these might not be random acts. Several professional athletes have dealt with break-ins recently, including Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce and Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis.
Both the NBA and NFL have issued warnings to players about the growing threat. The NBA, citing FBI intelligence, specifically linked the crimes to "transnational South American Theft Groups."
Right now it is uncertain if these incidents are connected to any of those, but the Globe reports Brown was excused from practice on Tuesday as a result of the incident. He practiced Wednesday and appears to be on track to play Thursday night against the Chicago Bulls at TD Garden.
The Celtics issued a statement Thursday morning, saying, "The safety of Celtics players, families and staff is of the utmost importance to us. We are aware of the incident and are working with authorities. The team will have no further comment at this time."
Reached Thursday about the two incidents involving Celtics players, a league spokesman told NBC10 Boston, “We are deeply concerned about the reported burglaries in Boston. NBA security representatives are in contact with the Celtics and all relevant authorities to offer our full assistance and support.”
