e book, which will hit store shelves on Tuesday, alleges that the two had an encounter in the 80s when Rice was a junior basketball player at the University of Michigan and Palin -- then known as Sarah Heath -- was a sports reporter for an Anchorage television station.
The story claims that Palin had a "fetish" for black men at the time and "hauled" Rice down, though The New York Times mentioned in its review of the book that Rice called Palin a "sweetheart" and "respectful."
Rice refused to comment on the situation when reporters reached him at his Florida home on Wednesday, but he did allegedly confirm the relationship to McGinniss in the book. Another report stated that Rice and Palin used to talk to each other over the phone, even though Palin was apparently seeing her then-boyfriend Todd Palin at the time and would marry him nine months later.
Former NBA star Charles Barkley -- who in the past has stated affection for Palin -- told ESPN Chicago that if the story is true, Glen Rice went up in his book.
"You know I have a thing for Sarah Palin, I do. I think she's hot," Barkley told the radio station.
