Jerrod Mustaf

Terrah Jerrod Mustaf (born October 28, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. He played four seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Mustaf played at DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. He was one of the most heavily recruited players in his senior year, and went on to play collegiately at the University of Maryland.

After being selected by the New York Knicks in the first round, 17th overall, in the 1990 NBA draft, Mustaf played in the NBA from 1990 to 1994 with the Knicks and the Phoenix Suns, and then three days for the Seattle SuperSonics, after which he played professionally in Europe. He retired in 2001, last playing with Altay Kartal Makarna of the Turkish Basketball League.

Mustaf is the chief executive officer and president of Street Basketball Association based in Mitchellville, Maryland. He is the former sports ambassador for Gambia, professional NBA Blogger for Supersport/Multivision, Executive Director of the Take Charge Juvenile Diversion Program and Founder/Head basketball coach of the Take Charge Pride AAU Organization. He was also a three-time Parade All American (along with Shawn Kemp and Alonzo Mourning). He participated in the Capital Classic and McDonald's All-Star Games.

The Murder of Althea Hayes
On July 22, 1993, Musaf's girlfriend Althea Hayes was found shot to death in her apartment in Glendale, Arizona. Hayes, age 27, was pregnant with Mustaf's child at the time of her murder. Multiple witnesses reported that Mustaf was not happy about the pregnancy and had asked Hayes to have an abortion, but Hayes refused. On the night Hayes was murdered, she phoned a friend and told them that Mustaf's cousin, Lavonnie Woten, was in her apartment and that she was frightened of him. An off-duty police officer reported seeing both Jerrod Mustaf and Lavonnie Woten in the apartment complex where Hayes lived on the night she died. Woten was later arrested, convicted of the murder, and sentenced to life in prison in 1996. Mustaf has continued to be a person of interest in the murder investigation, with K.C. Scull, the lead homicide investigator for the Hayes case, stating to Sports Illustrated in 2017 that “I think, even today, if the U.S. Attorney’s office would take this case on, it could be won.”

The family of Althea Hayes later filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit against Mustaf. Mustaf settled the lawsuit out of court for an undisclosed amount.