Josh Margolin and Aaron Katersky of ABC News report that Kevin Porter Jr., a guard for the Houston Rockets, was taken into custody in New York City on charges of reportedly beating his fiancée.
Porter was first barred out of his room at the Millennium Hotel early on Monday morning, according to Margolin and Katersky, because she “was upset with the late hour of his return.” Porter allegedly struck the woman after entering with the assistance of a hotel staff member.
A New York Police Department spokesman told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle that cops responded to a 911 call and showed up to the hotel at 6:45 a.m.
Officers were notified upon arrival that a woman, age 26, had cut her right side of her face and was experiencing pain in her neck, according to the spokeswoman. “A preliminary investigation on scene determined that a known individual struck her multiple times upon her body and placed his hands around her neck.”
Through Kelly Iko of The Athletic, NBA spokesperson Mike Bass provided the following statement on the situation: “We are aware of the reports about Kevin Porter Jr. The Houston Rockets are in communication with the league office, which is also collecting additional data.”
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN claims that the Rockets are unable to discipline Porter in any way, including suspending him, while the NBA looks into the matter.
As Porter nears his fifth NBA season, off-court issues have dogged the 23-year-old forward throughout his career.
He said to reporters prior to the 2019 draft, “A lot of people say I’m one of the most talented in the draft but I have a lot of red flags in my character.”
Porter was traded to the Rockets in January 2021 by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had selected him in the second round. At that time, Porter was allegedly involved in a verbal argument with team officials in the locker room. At that time in the season, he had not yet donned a Cavaliers uniform.
for private motives.
In January 2022, Porter was also suspended for one game by Houston for an alleged altercation with assistant coach John Lucas during halftime.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon reported at the time that Porter had well-documented anger management issues, “which the team believes he has made progress on—but those surfaced again Saturday and ultimately drove him to leave the arena instead of rejoining the team for the second half, sources said.”
The Rockets play their first preseason game against the Indiana Pacers on October 10th, and they play their first regular season game against the Orlando Magic on October 25th.
Rafael Stone, the general manager of Houston, was asked to comment on Porter’s arrest, according to Feigen.
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