Warning: This post contains descriptions of domestic violence.
The NBA is reopening its investigation into Jaxson Hayes of the Los Angeles Lakers following the release of a video of him and his ex-girlfriend from 2021.
“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.
TMZ posted the video, which runs five and a half minutes, early Sunday morning. It contains surveillance footage that shows Hayes and his then-girlfriend Sofia Jamora in an altercation, during which Hayes can be seen pushing and spitting at her. At one point he is seen entering Jamora’s room, after which there is a loud crashing sound and Jamora can be heard crying out and asking him to stop.
Hayes’ July 2021 arrest
The video is from July 2021, when Hayes was with the New Orleans Pelicans, though the incident took place in Los Angeles. The police were called and Hayes was arrested, and he was originally charged with 12 misdemeanors for fighting with officers during his arrest. Those charges included three counts of inflicting corporal injury to a spouse, two counts of domestic battery, one count of battery against an officer, one count of false imprisonment, three counts of vandalism, one count of aggravated trespassing and one count of resisting arrest.
Hayes pleaded no contest to misdemeanor counts of false imprisonment and resisting an officer on Feb. 24, 2022. The other 10 misdemeanors were dismissed. He was sentenced to three years of probation, 450 hours of community service and a year of weekly domestic violence classes.
The NBA had originally opened an investigation into Hayes after he was arrested in July 2021, but did not pursue any disciplinary action.
Why is this coming up three years later?
The NBA is reopening its investigation due to the release of the video, but why was the video released now, more than three years after the incident took place?
According to ESPN, the video is part of a new lawsuit filed by Jamora’s lawyers, in which she accuses Hayes of compensating one of the officers involved in his arrest for unknown reasons.
“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.
A Lakers spokesperson told ESPN that the team is cooperating with the NBA. A spokesperson for Jamora told ESPN that as a victim of domestic violence, she “welcomes” the investigation into Hayes’ actions and will fully cooperate with the investigation.