In case you missed it, 25-year-old Charlotte Hornets forward Jeffery Taylor is facing assault charges stemming from an incident early Thursday morning involving his girlfriend — an individual identified by TMZ as a member of the Michigan State University women’s soccer team. Taylor is accused of attacking a female and a male, and was arraigned Thursday morning on one count of domestic assault, one count of assault and one count of malicious destruction of property. In the wake of the NFL’s fumbling of domestic violence cases involving its player, and a subsequent statement from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver that the league needs to “take a fresh look at everything we do”, the Charlotte Hornets wasted no time in deactivating Taylor while the investigation continues:
While the NFL has (or, had) a rather arbitrary penalty system for violating the league’s conduct policy, the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement calls for a 10-game suspension if a player is convicted of a violent felony no a first offense. According to the Charlotte Observer, the domestic assault and assault charges are considered misdemeanors if Taylor has no prior offenses, while destruction of property is either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the amount of damage.
Taylor was the 31st pick in the 2012 NBA draft, and was averaging eight points in 24 minutes per game last season before rupturing his right Achilles in December.
