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Former Atlanta Hawks Star Eddie Johnson Dies While Serving Life In Prison

Former Atlanta Hawks All-Star Eddie Johnson has died at age 65, while serving a life sentence in prison.

Johnson, nicknamed ‘Fast Eddie’ due to his speed, quickness and explosive first step played in the NBA for 10 seasons before receiving a lifetime suspension from the league in 1987 for his cocaine use.

In his time in the league, Johnson was a two-time NBA-All-Star, and earned two nominations to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.

In 2008, when Johnson was 53, he was found guilty of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl and received a mandatory life sentence in Florida.

According to the Associate Press, his cause of death is reportedly due to an undisclosed illness, though specifics are not clear.