DENVER (AP) — Former University of Denver basketball player Coban Porter, the younger brother of Denver Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr., was sentenced Friday to six years in prison for killing a 42-year-old woman in a drunken driving crash last year.
Denver District Court Judge Ericka Englert told Porter, “Do what you can to use this opportunity to educate others” about the dangers of driving drunk.
“All I can really say is, ‘I’m sorry,’” Porter said in court. “I hope that somehow, someway I’ll be able to make a difference.”
Porter said he hoped his sentencing brought peace to the victim’s family.
The sentencing came two days after another brother, former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter, was banned by the NBA after an investigation found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors and bet on games in violation of league rules.
Coban Porter had pleaded guilty to DUI vehicular homicide and vehicular assault in the crash that killed Kathy Rothman on Jan. 22, 2023. Family members said Rothman, the mother of a now-5-year-old boy, was driving for Uber at the time of the crash.
As part of his plea agreement, Porter acknowledged he was driving drunk at 2 a.m. when he ran a red light near the university and crashed into Rothman's car, killing her and seriously injuring her 47-year-old passenger, Jason Branch.
Porter, who was 21 at the time of the crash, was recovering from a knee injury and wasn't traveling with the university basketball team. A 6-foot-4 guard, he started eight games for the Pioneers as a freshman in 2021-22.
Under terms of the agreement, Porter could have been sentenced to up to eight years in prison, but the judge sentenced him to six years on one count and two on the other and allowed the sentences to run concurrently.
