Cristal Taylor Sacked Tony Banks Before Dirk Nowitzki

The Denver Nuggets ended the Dallas Mavericks‘ season Wednesday night leaving Dirk Nowitzki free to deal with his problems off the court. The checkered past of his fiance Cristal Taylor is coming to light and there seems to be a new story everyday.

The latest twist takes us back to 1997 when Taylor dated former St. Louis Rams quarterback Tony Banks. The situation never got public like it did for Nowitzki, and Banks never lived with Taylor like Nowitzki did, but the mess had the Rams considering drafting Jake Plummer and ditching Banks.

Cristal Taylor Mugshot

It took a while but Dirk smartened up. He hired a private investigator and got the cops involved. Banks tried to deal with Taylor on his own and found out what Dirk wishes he had known: She’s Crazy.

From The Dallas Morning News:

When their brief relationship fizzled, Banks said, Taylor began making harassing phone calls to him, his agent and even his St. Louis Rams head coach, Dick Vermeil.

Alarmed that Taylor was “trying to run my name through the mud,” Banks notified team security, which learned Taylor had a criminal history and had used multiple identities.

“This is unbelievable,” Banks said. “This is wild. I can’t believe it’s the same chick.”

Wild indeed. Sucks for Dirk. Breaking up with somebody is bad enough on its own. Dirk’s relationship falls apart and everybody in the country knows the situation. With the collapse in the 2006 Finals, the embarrassing first-round loss to Golden State in 2007, and this Cristal Taylor mess, it’s gonna be impossible for Nowitzki’s career to the respect it deserves.

Former NFL QB says woman targeted him before Dirk Nowitzki [The Dallas Morning News]