NBA YoungBoy Receives Presidential Pardon Ahead Of MASA Tour

Rapper NBA YoungBoy (Kentrell Gaulden) was among several people recently pardoned by President Donald Trump, the Associated Press reports. Gaulden was sentenced to nearly two years in prison and five years of probation due to gun-related charges.

As per the AP:

In 2024, Gaulden was sentenced by a federal judge in Utah after he acknowledged possessing weapons despite being a convicted felon. He reached an agreement that resolved Utah state charges against him and settled two sets of federal charges against him — one carried a 23-month sentence and the other ordered five years of probation and a $200,000 fine.

NBA YoungBoy issued a statement via social media thanking the president:

“I want to thank President Trump for granting me a pardon and giving me the opportunity to keep building — as a man, as a father, and as an artist,” Gaulden wrote. “This moment means a lot. It opens the door to a future I’ve worked hard for and I am fully prepared to step into this.”

Gaulden was released from federal custody in March for time served and also finished his home confinement in May. Essentially the pardon means he won’t have to serve the five years of probation, freeing him up to “concentrate on first and foremost his family, and then, of course, his amazing career,” as per a statement by one of Gaulden’s lawyers, Drew Findling.

In his statement, YoungBoy also thanked “Pardon Czar, Ms. Alice Marie Johnson, for fighting for second chances for so many people” and his lawyer “Brittany K. Barnett, for being in my corner and all your hard work to make this possible.”

Tickets for NBA YoungBoy’s MASA Tour went on sale last week. Scroll down for a complete list of NBA YoungBoy tour dates and ticket info.