Malone and his family were accused of spoiling another person’s name in an elk-hunting incident.
Sep 27, 2026 5:26 PM EDT
NBA Writer at Basketball Network
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Karl Malone was a 6’9″, 250-pound force who spent nearly two decades physically overwhelming opponents on the basketball court. Even away from the court, he put his massive frame to perfect use: for hunting and fishing.
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While that activity did give the two-time MVP a chance to embrace his wilder side, that passion once landed him in the middle of a legal dispute after a former business partner in Idaho accused him of offering $25,000 to take the blame for an illegal elk-hunting incident.
Interestingly, the lawsuit filed by Sidney Ray Davis of Soda Springs against Malone’s Salt Lake City-based property management company went beyond the alleged bribe.
In fact, Davis even claimed that Malone’s brother-in-law, Ken Kensey, threatened him with physical violence if Davis did not make the investigation disappear.
However, “The Mailman’s” camp almost instantly pushed back against those allegations.
His attorney, Randall Call, denied both the bribery and the intimidation claims and argued that the lawsuit was “frivolous,” suggesting Malone was being targeted because of his NBA fame and wealth.
Malone’s camp defended his innocence
The Utah Jazz legend had met Davis at a hunting exposition and the two eventually became friends.
The latter, who was once a licensed outfitter in Idaho’s Caribou County, later accompanied Malone on several elk-hunting trips.
According to Davis’ complaint, one incident occurred during a 1998 hunting trip when he allegedly did not have a state-issued elk tag for Malone. During the outing, the two-time MVP fired into the snow at a bull elk but never hit the animal.
Davis claimed that Malone was concerned about the potential publicity surrounding any hunting violation, particularly because he was negotiating a new contract with the Jazz at the time. Malone eventually signed a four-year, $66.5 million contract in 1999.
Malone’s legal team, however, maintained that the lawsuit was another attempt to extract money from the Hall of Famer.
“We’ve dealt with this kind of extortion before,” Randall Call said. “It’s a little like terrorism, you can’t buckle into it at any time or else it will prevail.”
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Allegations of bribery were dropped
A judge in Idaho’s 6th district dismissed the bribery claims; however, that dismissal did not end the entire legal dispute.
Davis’ attorney, John Bial, acknowledged that the bribery allegation had been dismissed but emphasized that other claims concerning Malone’s alleged conduct remained. Most importantly, Davis’ “breach-of-contract” claims stuck.
That separate dispute involved a demand for roughly $95,000 in repayment, along with attorney fees and other damages.
“I know at one point Karl thought that Sid and his mother treated him like family,” Davis’ attorney Bial said. “We’re at a loss why he wouldn’t pay his obligations.”
So while Malone successfully got past bribery allegations, the broader contract dispute did cause him agony.
So, for Malone and his camp, that episode served as a strong reminder that they should always choose business partners after a thorough check because his reputation off the court was just as important to uphold.