Domestic violence hearing for Hornets free agent Miles Bridges delayed again
Miles Bridges’ preliminary hearing on felony domestic abuse charges in California has again been rescheduled.
A spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office told The Charlotte Observer on Friday that Bridges’ court date has been moved to Sept. 29.
That’s the third rescheduling, and it threatens to cost Bridges part of the NBA preseason.
Bridges, the leading scorer for the Charlotte Hornets last year, was initially to appear at his preliminary hearing on Aug. 19 then Sept. 7. But it was carried over to Friday. Now it’s been delayed again.
Bridges, a Michigan State graduate, is charged with severely beating his girlfriend in front of their two children.
On July 20, Bridges pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles Superior Court to three felony charges: injuring a child’s parent, and two counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death.
If convicted of all three, Bridges faces up to almost 12 years in prison.
He was arrested June 29 after what Los Angeles police described as an incident two days before of “Intimate Partner Violence with Injury.”
The Observer does not typically identify possible victims of domestic violence.
After Bridges’ arrest, his accuser went on social media to share photos of her injuries and what appeared to be a copy of her medical report.
The report described an “Adult victim of physical abuse by male partner” who had suffered “assault by strangulation; brain concussion; closed fracture of nasal bone; contusion of rib; multiple bruises; strain of neck muscle.”
Bridges, the 12th overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft, finds himself in significant legal jeopardy as his career teeters on the cusp of stardom.
He became a restricted free agent in July when the Hornets tendered him a $7.9 million qualifying offer. That gives the team the right to match any deal he receives on the free-agent market, which, prior to his legal problems, was expected by many to reach $25 million a year.
Now his career may ride on the outcome of his case.
The Hornets’ qualifying offer still stands because the deadline to rescind it passed on July 13, meaning Bridges’ representatives and the team both must agree to pull it off the table.
Depending on the outcome of his case, Bridges would likely face a stiff suspension from the NBA similar to the 24-game punishment the league handed former Hornet Jeff Taylor in 2014 following his guilty plea on domestic violence charges.
His new court date also overlaps with the beginning of the Hornets’ preseason.
The Charlotte NBA team is scheduled to hold media day on Sept. 26 and begin training camp a day later, leading up to the Hornets’ Oct. 2 preseason opener in Boston against the Celtics.
Charlotte Observer Hornets writer Roderick Boone contributed.
This story was originally published September 16, 2022 at 6:22 PM.
