Former Knicks star Amare Stoudemire becomes Miami police officer

Former New York Knicks star Amar’e Stoudemire has traded the basketball court for a badge.Stoudemire, 43, graduated from the Miami-Dade Police Academy Wednesday “after months of rigorous training” and will join the county’s school police department.“Amar’e Stoudemire made his mark on the basketball court.

A six-time NBA All-Star, 2003 Rookie of the Year and newly inducted Basketball Hall of Famer, he played for some of the league’s biggest teams, including our very own Miami Heat,” Miami Dade College posted on Instagram, alongside pictures of Stoudemire’s graduation.“Today, he’s celebrating a very different milestone: graduating from the MDC School of Justice Basic Law Enforcement Academy after months of rigorous training,” the post continued.“And he’s graduating with special recognition, receiving the Harry ‘Coach’ Everett Award for his contributions to the success of the academy program throughout his training,” the college added.Stoudemire, who spent five seasons with the Knicks from 2010 to 2015, revealed that becoming a police officer had been a lifelong ambition.“It’s something I always wanted to do since I was a kid,” the six-time All-Star told Sports Illustrated Wednesday.“I remember back when I was in grade school, elementary school.They asked you on career day, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ And my initial response was a police officer.”“It runs in the family.

My uncle was a captain.His brother was a deputy.

My cousin is a captain.My sister’s in the academy.

So, it’s a family tradition, basically,” he added.Stoudemire, a former first round draft pick, spent nearly 11 months in the academy, which featured classroom sessions and “prime military” training drills that he described as more physically demanding than the NBA.“Yeah, it was a little bit [more] challenging actually because now I’m running a lot more than I had before,” Stoudemire told the outlet.“Obviously, in the NB...