According to the National Enquirer, Joe McGinniss’ forthcoming Sarah Palin book includes the claim that Sarah Palin had an affair with former Michigan and NBA basketball star Glen Rice in 1987, while he was visiting for a basketball tournament.

Let it sink in.

How can I add value to this already incredible story? Here’s video of her working as sportscaster, talking about Glen Rice’s Michigan Wolverines, from that same 1987-1988 season. Relevant portion starts at 0:40.

Good, huh? Now let’s get to testing the credibility of this story, one claim at a time. From the Enquirer:

In the book, which will be published on September 20th, McGinniss claims Sarah had a steamy interracial hookup with basketball stud Glen Rice less than a year before she eloped with her husband Todd.

Sarah hooked up with the NBA great, then a 6-foot-8 junior at the University of Michigan when he was playing in a college basketball tournament in Alaska in 1987, the book says. At the time, Sarah, just out of college, was working as a sports reporter for the Anchorage TV station KTUU.

A publishing source told The ENQUIRER that McGinniss claims Sarah had a “fetish” for black men at the time and he quotes a friend as saying Sarah had “hauled (Rice’s) ass down.”

A source unrelated to the book told The ENQUIRER, Todd was very much in the picture at the time and the couple married just nine months later.

In the book, McGinniss quotes Rice as confirming the one-night stand.

Any hookup she would have with Glen Rice would be by definition, interracial, and given the raw sexiness that those two bring to the table, Glen, soon to become a champion at the collegiate and professional level, Sarah, soon to become an almost-Vice President, yes, it probably was steamy.

She eloped with Todd in August of 1988, and Michigan participated in the Great Alaskan Shootout in November/December of 1987, indeed, less than a year prior to her elopement. Again, this makes it believable that he was in the picture, but again, who knows?

Sarah Palin’s fetish for black men? Yeah, no way to verify that one, and it’s important to note that this particular fact does not appear to be culled from the actual book, so again, it is less likely to be credible. However, I have defended the National Enquirer in the past, and will continue to do so here.

The above video indicates it is likely that Palin was working at KTUU only about three months prior to the air date of that clip, when the alleged incident occurred.

As to the main source, Joe McGinniss’ credibility, well, he should have some. He had a New York Times Bestseller at age 26, he’s written a number of true crime books, he’s written about presidents, and once returned a $1 million advance because he did not feel he had anything to say about the farce of a trial. In other words, he should be credible. How on earth this nugget of information came up during the course of his research of the Palins, I have no idea.

If you recognize his name at all, it’s likely from the foofaraw over his moving next door to the Palins.

As for Glen Rice’s credibility… I mean, I can’t really think of any good reasons for him to lie, except that he might want publicity and the money that came along with it. On the other hand, shouldn’t the 1997 All-Star Game MVP Award provide enough fame to last a lifetime? I say yes.

Read the rest at the National Enquirer.