The NBA is reopening a 2021 domestic disturbance incident involving now Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes. TMZ released a video of the incident which prompted the new investigation from the league to take place.
ESPN NBA insider Dave McMenamin reported the news on social media. The NBA released a comment regarding the decision to start up the investigation again.
“As a result of the media report and video posted this morning, we are reopening our investigation,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass told ESPN in a statement.
The video that TMZ posted is around five and a half minutes long and shows camera footage of Hayes arguing with his then-girlfriend Sofia Jamora. Hayes appears to pull Jamora out of a doorway and the video picked up some audio of the entire incident.
“Stop. Let go of me.” Hayes can be heard replying, “What the f— is wrong with you?”
The argument continues in the driveway, with Jamora standing back up to Hayes.
“I’m not going to let you hit me anymore,” Jamora can be heard saying in the video. “What the f— do I look like, a punching bag?”
Hayes then walks away from Jamora before turning around and spitting in her direction. The footage from the Ring camera is time-stamped from July 28, 2021.
A spokesperson for Hayes put out a statement regarding the new investigation from the NBA.
“There has already been an extensive investigation that we cooperated with the league on, and as that investigation reopens, we will continue to do so,” a spokesperson for Hayes told ESPN on Saturday.
After the domestic disturbance call, Hayes was arrested. He ended up being sentenced to three years of probation with 450 hours of community service. In addition, he had to attend a year of domestic violence classes weekly but wasn’t disciplined by the NBA for the arrest.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka commented on the serious matter as well.
“I think the most important thing is we take those things very seriously and do a full vetting process,” Rob Pelinka, Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager, told reporters at the time when asked about signing Hayes. “Jaxson has been very sincere [with] his apologies around handling that and has moved beyond it to where he’s had a year or two in the NBA playing after it. It was something that we felt like he owned, took responsibility for it and is going to be a better person on the other side of it.”
It remains to be seen what will happen with this new investigation but it seems that all sides are cooperating to the fullest extent.
