In NBA history several reports have been made of players involved in domestic violence and were arrested for similar charges. There were many NBA stars who faced legal charges and were penalized by the law. This made the saying that ‘not all NBA players are role models off the court,’ seem true.
Domestic violence might be highly frowned upon by many, but there are those who get away with it especially when there is no clear evidence. However, NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently addressed the issue of domestic violence during the NBA’s season-opening night in response to a question thrown by Charles Barkley.
Adam Silver talks on concerning issue of domestic violence in the NBA
Before the ring ceremony of the Denver Nuggets, TNT analyst and basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley addressed the lingering issue of domestic violence during an interview with the NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Barkley asked the commissioner what the NBA is doing to curb the issue of domestic violence in the league.
Adam Silver responded, “That’s an area where we’re not looking to compete against other leagues when you say forefront. I think all the leagues are trying to address this issue. But I know, again, our players association, credit to them, this wasn’t adversarial. We put in place a new program for how we deal with, first of all, accusations of domestic violence even before they’re prosecuted. Part of it goes to the training of our players.”
The former 11-time NBA All-Star Charles Barkley appeared to hit the nail on the head which in the long run gave the NBA community clarity on the body’s stand on the issue. It was obvious Adam was caught off guard by the question from Barkley, as his answer was quite underwhelming as he avoided mentioning mental health and educational programs established by other leagues whose primary duty is to handle domestic violence. Fans will be looking to see when the NBA will directly address the issue, as there is a long list of past and present players involved in domestic violence.
High-profile cases of domestic violence in NBA
Unfortunately, the NBA’s players from both past and present have managed to find their names in domestic violence controversies. One of the recent issues involved Miles Bridges. The Hornets’ forward was charged with a felony against his wife Mychelle Johnson in late 2022. Another star is Darren Collison. The point guard was arrested in 2016 with a charge of assaulting his wife, who had visible injuries from the incident.
Matt Barnes is another name on the list who had faced similar charges and got arrested. The ex-Lakers forward was arrested after a domestic dispute in Sacramento with a woman presumed to be his fiancée Gloria Govan, but the former Lakers man still had a great career playing for nine teams.
Metta Sandiford also known as Ron Artest was arrested in 2007 on charge of domestic violence against his wife Kimsha Artest. And lastly, current head coach of the Mavs Jason Kidd was arrested in 2001 after he was alleged to have punched his wife during a heated argument.
However, there are several other cases of domestic violence that have taken place over the years. Hence, a call for the NBA to form policies and measures to control the situation before it destroys the league’s image is imminent.
