According to police, the incident involved Porter's girlfriend. — Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. was arrested Monday and charged with assault and strangulation, a New York City police spokesperson said.
Police responded to a 911 call reporting an assault at a New York hotel around 6:45 a.m. and arrested Porter, 23, after an investigation, according to The Associated Press.
The incident involved Porter’s girlfriend, a former WNBA player, ABC News reported.
“Upon arrival, officers were informed that a 26-year-old female sustained a laceration to the right side of her face and was complaining about pain to her neck,” the spokesperson said. “A preliminary investigation on scene determined that a known individual struck her multiple times upon her body and placed his hands around the neck.”
The woman was taken to the hospital for evaluation, according to police.
Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. was arrested in New York City for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend, former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick, police sources say. https://t.co/1y2XPaNZMR
— ABC News (@ABC) September 12, 2023
Porter’s girlfriend is Kysre Gondrezick, who is a free agent who has played for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky, according to The Daily Mail.
According to NBC, Gondrezick was taken to the hospital with at least one broken bone and bruising after the alleged attack, which occurred at the Millennium Hotel near Times Square.
“We are in the process of gathering information surrounding the matter involving Kevin Porter Jr.,” the Rockets said in a statement. “We have no further comment at this time.”
Porter was the No. 30 pick in the 2019 draft after spending one season at USC. He was suspended from the team because of conduct issues, according to ESPN.
He played his rookie season for the Cleveland Cavaliers but did not join the team the next season due to “personal reasons,” and was traded to the Rockets for a top-55-protected second-round pick in January 2021 in the wake of a shouting match with Cleveland team officials, ESPN reported.
When asked about Porter’s arrest, the NBA said in a statement, “The league office is in contact with the Houston Rockets and in the process of gathering more information.”
The NBA’s domestic violence policy allows commissioner Adam Silver the power to place Porter on administrative leave with pay for “a reasonable period of time,” but does not allow the Rockets to administer any immediate punishment on Porter.
According to the domestic violence policy, if Porter is determined to be guilty of the assault, the commissioner can fine, suspend, dismiss or disqualify him from any further association with the league and its teams.
Porter was a 2019 first-round draft pick. Last year, as he averaged 19.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game.
Porter was arrested in November 2020 on gun and marijuana charges after a single-car crash. Those charges were later dropped.
