EXCLUSIVE: Keith Appling Talks Second Chances After 'Minor Bumps In The Road'

EAST LANSING (WWJ) Can you mess up big time and still turn your life around?  A professional athlete facing weapons charges says he hopes to be able to do just that.

Former MSU and NBA player Keith Appling, 24, will be back in court next week to face his second weapons charge. He won't talk about the case -- but in this exclusive interview, he talked to WWJ's Laura Bonnell about second chances.

He visited the Horatio Williams Foundation, which supports kids in athletic endeavors and education, recently to talk to kids about staying focused on working hard and becoming successful. He said his heart melts listening to the kids talk.

"I'm kind of one of the guys that came from this neighborhood that could kind of come back and share a light on different things I've experienced in the world and that's something I feel can really help these kids as they continue to grow and mold themselves into whatever it is they want to become," Appling said.

Of his own issues, he said this to Bonnell: "Minor bumps in the road, you know I'm trying to just keep pushing and hopefully things end up better than they are right now."

Appling, who grew up in Detroit with his mom, his now-deceased father and six siblings, was charged in May with carrying a concealed weapon and other crimes after being found in possession of guns and marijuana in suburban Detroit, according to authorities.

He arrested outside a Dearborn strip club. Club security called police after seeing a man pull a gun from the trunk of a car.

Prosecutors say Appling was in the driver's seat, under which officers found a handgun. There was also a loaded weapon in the trunk and a small amount of suspected marijuana.

He talked to Bonnell about his view of guns.

"If you're out here doing that illegally then I feel that's where the problem comes in," he said. "And then people get in trouble for not understanding the laws or what not, but I feel like as long as it's done the right way, it's OK to have a gun because that's what they created the laws for."

Appling said he may end up back in the NBA, saying he's not ruling out anything.

"I just want to maximize my fullest potential," he said.

Seth Washington, 11, said Appling inspired him to believe he can dream big.

"I can do anything that I want to," Washington said, at a session with Appling at the Horatio Williams Foundation in Detroit.

In Appling's corner are his mentor and his family, he said. "I always had great, great family support and that's also one of those things that feel like also will get me over the hump, as well," he said.