At the Houston Rockets’ media day on Monday, General Manager Rafael Stone revealed that Kevin Porter Jr. would not be permitted to be associated with the NBA team in any capacity following his domestic violence arrest last month.
“The allegations against him are deeply troubling,” Stone asserted with conviction. “Going back a few weeks, as soon as I heard the allegations, I informed his representatives that he could not be part of the Houston Rockets. They understood, and he has not been with the team or around the team or had any interaction with the team since that time and will not be at media day today or in training camp.”
Porter, a rising star at the age of 23, found himself in legal trouble after being arrested for assault and strangulation in Manhattan.
The victim, Kysre Gondrezick, a former WNBA player, was allegedly subjected to a horrifying attack at the Millennium Hilton.
Prosecutors have disclosed disturbing details of the incident, accusing Porter of fracturing Gondrezick’s neck vertebra and inflicting a deep gash above her eye.
Porter entered a not-guilty plea during his arraignment in Manhattan and was subsequently released on $75,000 cash bail.
He has been mandated to stay away from Gondrezick and is scheduled to return to court on October 16.
However, the NBA’s top brass is facing a complex decision regarding Porter’s future with the Houston Rockets as they grapple with the serious assault charges hanging over him.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver expressed his concern over the matter, acknowledging the gravity of the situation.
“The allegations here are horrific, no question about it,” Silver declared. “I don’t know anything more about the actual facts, other than reading those allegations. We’re not in season. We have a bit of time to decide whether it would be appropriate for him to go to training camp or not.”
Porter, who had inked a substantial four-year, $82.5 million contract with the Rockets prior to last season, now faces an uncertain future as the legal process unfolds.
