Kings point guard Darren Collison charged with domestic violence
The NBA season featured few arrests, but now that 2015-16 has given way to the offseason for all but two of the league’s 30 teams, players have free time on their hands. And you know what they say about idle hands.
Sacramento Kings point guard Darren Collison was arrested on a felony domestic violence charge, according to multiple local media reports. Police received a call from a woman — Collison’s wife, per CBS13 — who said she was being assaulted, and when they arrived on scene around 1 a.m. on Wednesday morning, they witnessed visible injuries on the woman, Placer County Sheriff’s Office told KCRA-TV.
Collison was also booked for two outstanding misdemeanor warrants totaling $7,500 for driving with a suspended license, according to KCRA-TV. He faces up to four years in state prison and $6,000 in fines if convicted of the spousal felony domestic violence charge in California, CBS13 reported. The 6-foot, 175-pound point guard was released on $55,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on July 11.
“We’ve been made aware of the situation. The Sacramento Kings condemn violence of any kind,” the team said in a statement to the media. We are gathering additional information and once all facts are known we will take appropriate steps.”
Collison averaged 14 points, 4.3 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 30 minutes a night — mostly off the bench — for a Kings team that finished 33-49 this season. He has one year remaining on the three-year, $16 million deal he signed in Sacramento in 2014. Collison’s arrest can’t be a great first impression on new Kings coach Dave Joerger, who referenced his desire to improve the team’s culture during his introduction last month.
“There’s a certain way we expect people will behave and perform,” Joerger said upon taking the job in Sacramento. “What we will not allow and what we will not tolerate and we expect — we’re committed to doing this the right way, and you better be in the middle [of that], or we’ll go in a different direction.”
After months without a player arrest, L.A. Clippers forward Branden Dawson was charged with domestic violence shortly after being recalled from the D-League in March. He appeared in three more games with the Clippers. In September 2014, NBA commissioner Adam Silver vowed to examine the league policy regarding domestic violence in the wake of controversy concerning the NFL’s leniency on abuse, and Silver responded with a 24-game suspension of former Charlotte Hornets forward Jeff Taylor two months after that vow.
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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
