MIAMI (AP) — Former Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks star Amar’e Stoudemire is facing felony charges after allegedly punching one of his teenage daughters in the face.
Miami-Dade County court records show Stoudemire, 40, was arrested early Sunday and later released on $1,500 bail with a no-contact warrant.
Miami Police Department officials did not immediately respond to a telephone message from The Associated Press.
But The Miami Herald, citing a police report, said Stoudemire punched one of his two teenage daughters during an argument at his Miami home on Saturday night. The newspaper says he has two daughters, aged 17 and 14, but the report does not specify which one he allegedly hit.
According to the newspaper, the 6-foot-10 (2.1 meters), 255-pound (115 kilograms) Stoudemire confronted the girl and accused her of being disrespectful to his mother during a phone conversation. When she denied it, he told her, “You’re talking back again,” and hit her on the jaw, causing her to bleed, the report said.
The girl contacted her mother, Stoudemire’s ex-wife, who came home and picked up the two girls and their two brothers and then contacted the police.
The report says that when officers went to Stoudemire’s home, he told them the teen had called her mother “because she was sad” and she “was sad because she got a shout out from him for being disrespectful and a liar.” He then invoked his right to remain silent.
No attorney for Stoudemire is listed in the court records. His Instagram page shows that he had completed his master’s degree at the University of Miami earlier Saturday.
Stoudemire played 15 seasons in the NBA and won the Rookie of the Year award following the 2002–03 season after being drafted by the Suns. After eight seasons with Phoenix, he was traded to New York, where he played for five years. He finished his NBA career with one season each with the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat before playing in Israel. He retired in 2017.
During his NBA career, Stoudemire made six All-Star squads, averaging 18.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
