Former Memphis Tigers basketball star Dedric Lawson accused of skipping out on $88 bar tab

Dedric Lawson, the former University of Memphis basketball player who transferred to play at Kansas this offseason, has been accused of walking out on a $88 bill at Bar Louie in Overton Square early Thursday morning.

A waitress at Bar Louie filed a police report alleging that Lawson was at the restaurant at 2125 Madison Avenue around 1:30 a.m. when he failed to pay the bill for food and drinks totaling $88.20.

According to the report, the waitress told police that Lawson left without paying his tab and got in a black Nissan Maxima and left.

She said that she followed him outside and recognized him because she went to high school with him, telling officers that Lawson now "plays college basketball in Kansas," according to the report. She was able to provide his phone number to police, the report said.

No charges have been filed against Lawson as police investigate the incident.

Bar Louie's owners issued a statement Thursday afternoon in support of Lawson, although the restaurant declined to comment when asked whether Lawson left without paying his tab.

"Mr. Lawson is a great patron of our restaurant and we appreciate his business," Bar Louie General Manager Sean Taylor said. "We look forward to having him back as a valued guest."

When reached by telephone for comment on Thursday, Lawson’s father, Keelon, was with his son and asked about the incident. Dedric Lawson told him, “he didn’t walk out on no bill.”



“He was at Bar Louie eating some food,” said Keelon Lawson, who previously served as an assistant coach and director of player development for the Memphis men's basketball program. “He was there with his girlfriend and his cousin and some dudes were trying to buy his girlfriend and cousin some drinks and the dudes didn’t pay for the drinks and the waitress tried to make him pay for it. So he said he’s not going to pay for some drinks because some dudes were buying drinks for some girls.”

According to Keelon Lawson, Dedric Lawson doesn’t even drink alcohol and he questioned why his 19-year-old son had even been allowed into Bar Louie.

An hour later, during an interview with ESPN 92.9 FM, Dedric Lawson's story was slightly different. He noted on the Jason and John Show that the waitress making the allegation was a former high school girlfriend who charged him for drinks others ordered. Lawson said he did pay for the only two drinks that he ordered — for his current girlfriend and cousin.

Lawson, a Memphis native, was recently suspended by Kansas Coach Bill Self for the Jayhawks' team trip to Italy due to an altercation in practice.

He averaged 19.2 points and 9.9 rebounds last season for the Tigers, but elected to leave the program along with his brother, K.J., in March. The two subsequently ended up at Kansas, where they will have to sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules.