Former NBA Player Corey Benjamins Daughter Punched Opponent And Requires To Pay $9,000
Back in November, Tira Hunt was heard on video telling her daughter whose father is ex-NBA player Corey Benjamin to go after a rival player following an on-court collision in Garden Grove, CA
According to TMZ Sports, The mom who told her daughter to attack her opponent during a youth basketball game last year has been forced to cough up more than $9,000 in restitution to the teen victim after agreeing to enter a diversion program.
Tira hunt’s daughter punched the opponent in the neck and she collapsed on the court, suffering a concussion. The punch was recorded on cellphone video and went viral.
Prosecutors say Latira Shonty Hunt was in the stands Nov. 7, 2021 when she yelled at her daughter "you better hit her for that" following an interaction between her daughter and the opponent during the game.
In the video, Hunt's daughter is seen throwing a wild roundhouse punch that caught the 15-year-old opponent by surprise.
Hunt was charged a month later with one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and one misdemeanor count of battery.
She faced up to a year in jail for the charges, but an Orange County superior judge allowed Hunt to participate in a diversion program that includes restitution and a written apology letter to the victim, the girl's parents and both basketball teams.
She'll also have to complete anger management classes before she's allowed back at any games, and she must also stay away from the victim.
"A grown adult directing a child to use violence against another child on the basketball court is reprehensible," Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement. "By instructing her own daughter to engage in violence, she is not only responsible for injuring an innocent child as if she punched her with her own fist, but she transformed her own child into someone who is willing to hurt another child."
Among Hunt's requirements include the $9k payment, written apologies to the victim, her parents and the two basketball teams involved, and anger management classes before returning to basketball games. On top of that, Hunt has been forced to stay away from the victim.
Former NBA Player Corey Benjamin apologized for his daughter's actions following the incident saying that was not how he raised her.
"To the young lady who was punched by my daughter during a youth basketball game, I sincerely apologize to you and I am praying for your complete healing both physically and emotionally," he said.
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