Tony Cole just can't seem to stay out of the news — or trouble.

The former Georgia basketball player, whose cheating allegations led to the ouster of coach Jim Harrick in 2003, was recently involved in a jailhouse brawl over the weekend in Chicago.

Cole and another inmate got into a "tussle" May 2 that involved the telephones inside the Cook County Jail, according to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times. Cole is incarcerated until trial for violating the terms of his home confinement as a result a domestic dispute case.

Cole is also at the center of a hiring scandal in Cook County, where he held a $61,000-a-year job with the highway department. Cole, 29, was fired for lying on his job application about previous arrests. A county administrator was also dismissed for allegedly bailing out Cole twice with credit cards at a cost of $4,000.

Cole and 42-year-old Jesse Riggins both claimed to jail officials the other was on the phone when they were attacked without provocation. Riggins suffered a dislocated thumb. Cole had scrapes on a knee and marks on one hand.

Cole wants to press charges, according to the newspaper.

"This is how you run this jail," he said in a sheriff's office report of the incident. "I am going to call my people and I am going to call the press."

About the Author

Keep Reading

Kirk Cousins on the sidelines during the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, November 3, 2024, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. 
(Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Featured

State senators Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, and RaShaun Kemp, D-Atlanta, fist bump at the Senate at the Capitol in Atlanta on Crossover Day, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (Arvin Temkar / AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com