Sean “Diddy” Combs and former Phoenix Suns guard Sebastian Telfair are connected as New York City legends-turned-prison mates at FCI Fort Dix federal prison in New Jersey.
The disgraced hip hop music mogul and Telfair were spotted hanging out together in a candid photo of what appeared to be the prison yard, revealed by TMZ on Monday, Nov. 3.
The 55-year-old Combs is one of the biggest-selling rappers of all time who rose to fame during the 1990s with his Bad Boy Records label. Combs also launched other successful brands such as his eponymous Sean John clothing line, Ciroc Vodka and the Revolt TV channel.
Telfair, 40, who played in the NBA from 2005-15, is serving a six-month sentence that began in August. His prison bid stemmed from his March 2023 conviction for his role in a $4 million NBA healthcare fraud scheme that involved 18 former NBA players, including former Suns players Shannon Brown and Milt Palacio.
Sebastian Telfair #31 of the Phoenix Suns is congratulated by teammates as he leaves the floor during a time-out against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Jan. 12, 2013, in Chicago, Illinois.
Telfair had agreed to a plea deal — time served and three years of supervised release and mandatory community service — but he was sent to prison because he allegedly failed to report to the U.S. Probation Office as well as fulfill the terms of his conditional supervised release.
In 2004, he became one of the few high school phenoms to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated. That same year, Teflair skipped college to enter the NBA and was a first-round pick by the Portland Trail Blazers. Besides Portland and Phoenix, Telfair had stints with six other teams before he retired in 2015. He played 106 games for the Suns from 2011-13.
Combs entered Fort Dix by request on Oct. 30 to begin his 50-month prison sentence (four years, two months), including a drug treatment program and to be close to his family.
“I lost my way,” Combs wrote in a letter to the judge prior to his sentencing. “My downfall was rooted in my selfishness. I have been humbled and broken to my core.”
The first two and a half years of his sentence will be at Fort Dix. He’s scheduled to be released from prison on May 8, 2028, per the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Combs’ lawyers are appealing his conviction and sentence. Earlier this week, his legal team requested an expedited schedule.
Another thing Combs and Telfair have in common is that they are both asking for a pardon from Donald Trump to get out of prison.
“Trump, go check in on my story and you’re definitely going to want to pardon me,” Telfair said during a TMZ interview on Aug. 12 when he entered prison. “You’ll hold me accountable and want me to continue to go do good. But I did too good to being sending anybody to jail.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ex-Phoenix Suns player Sebastian Telfair, Diddy hanging out in prison