People, Apr. 4, 1977

Everyone knows that the Detroit Pistons are an unhappy basketball team. But to prefer jail to playing with them? For part of last week, that seemed to be the decision of Marvin Barnes, the $300,000-a-year Piston star. Barnes faces a jail term for violating parole, stemming from a 1974 conviction for assault, and he said he would rather begin serving his sentence now than perform with his team in the N.B.A. playoffs. His main gripe against the Pistons: for a player of his quality—and on a good night he can be incandescent—he does not...

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