NEW VIDEO LEADS NBA TO REOPEN INVESTIGATION INTO LAKERS' HAYES

 

NBA to reopen investigation on Jaxson Hayes after new video
© Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images

The NBA is reopening an investigation into a 2021 incident involving Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes after TMZ posted a video Saturday of the altercation between him and his then-girlfriend.

"As a result of the media report and video posted this morning, we are reopening our investigation," NBA spokesman Mike Bass told ESPN in a statement.

TMZ posted 5½ minutes of security camera footage from an incident showing Hayes -- then a member of the New Orleans Pelicans -- arguing with Sofia Jamora. The video shows Hayes appearing to pull Jamora out of a doorway while she can be heard saying, "Stop. Let go of me." Hayes can be heard replying, "What the f--- is wrong with you?"

Footage from a Ring camera is time-stamped July 28, 2021, starting at 1:35 a.m.

Hayes and Jamora then are shown leaving the residence and continuing their argument in the driveway. "I'm not going to let you hit me anymore," Jamora can be heard saying in the video. "What the f--- do I look like, a punching bag?"

Not long after that comment, the video shows Hayes walking away from Jamora then turning his head back to spit in her direction.

The Los Angeles Police Department responded to the scene in Woodland Hills, California, after a domestic disturbance call, and Hayes was arrested. In June 2022, he was sentenced to three years of probation, 450 hours of community service and a year of weekly domestic violence classes.

The NBA did not discipline Hayes following its initial investigation into the arrest.

"There has already been an extensive investigation that we cooperated with the league on, and as that investigation reopens, we will continue to do so," a spokesperson for Hayes told ESPN on Saturday.

Hayes also was ordered to pay restitution at the time, according to Los Angeles City Attorney's Office spokesman Rob Wilcox.

Police body camera video showed Hayes scuffling with officers and being hit twice with an electronic stun gun after they ordered him out of the home while they sought to question a woman inside. Hayes told officers the woman was his girlfriend and that she had been "throwing some stuff" at him while they argued.

Hayes was treated at a hospital after the altercation. An officer thrown against a wall by Hayes was treated for an elbow injury.

Although more than three years have passed since the incident, there was new litigation this week.

A lawsuit filed Tuesday by attorneys representing Jamora and obtained by ESPN alleges that Robert T. Tamate, the officer whom Hayes scuffled with, had "previously met with Hayes's attorneys and was compensated monetarily by Hayes for unknown reasons."

"We understand that the NBA has a no-tolerance policy against domestic violence, and therefore the victim welcomes any further investigation into Hayes' actions and will cooperate with said investigation," a spokesperson for Jamora told ESPN.

Hayes signed a two-year, $4.6 million contract with the Lakers in the summer of 2023.

"I think the most important thing is we take those things very seriously and do a full vetting process," Rob Pelinka, Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager, told reporters at the time when asked about signing Hayes. "Jaxson has been very sincere [with] his apologies around handling that and has moved beyond it to where he's had a year or two in the NBA playing after it. It was something that we felt like he owned, took responsibility for it, and is going to be a better person on the other side of it."

A Lakers spokesperson contacted Saturday night told ESPN, "We are cooperating with the league."

Hayes, 24, is averaging 5.0 points and 4.2 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per game for the Lakers in their 4-2 start to the season.

ESPN's Baxter Holmes and information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.

- Dave McMenamin, ESPN Staff Writer

BROKEN CLOCK, REVIEWS MAR FINAL MINUTES OF LAKERS-WARRIORS

AP

 LOS ANGELES -- The last two minutes of the game clock in the Golden State Warriors' 128-121 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night took more than 20 minutes of real time to play out thanks to a series of replay reviews and shot-clock malfunctions.

The delays began with 1:50 remaining in the fourth, with the Lakers trailing 124-120, when L.A. coach Darvin Ham challenged an out-of-bounds call that granted the Warriors possession while Lakers center Jaxson Hayes and Golden State forward Andrew Wiggins both went for the rebound.

While the officials were reviewing the out-of-bounds call, they determined that the corner 3-pointer LeBron James made on the previous trip down the court with 2:07 remaining did not count.

The Lakers ended up winning the challenge -- Hayes and Wiggins faced off for a jump ball -- but lost points in the process.

"I've never seen that be called before like that -- in that particular time," said James, who finished with 40 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds. "That was kind of weird. ... It took some momentum away from us."

The ruling was eerily similar to one from a December game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, in which a late 3 by James that would have tied the score was downgraded to a 2-pointer after review. Just like he did that night, James disagreed with the call Saturday.

"I didn't believe I stepped on the line, obviously," James said Saturday. "I knew how much space I had over there. And when I shoot, I shoot on my tippy toes, so it's kind of hard for me to have a heel down."

Crew chief David Guthrie explained the ruling in a postgame statement to a pool reporter.

"James' left foot is out of bounds as he begins to shoot," Guthrie said. "Yes, it is reviewable at that time. The rule is Rule 13, Section II(f)(3): Whether the shooter committed a boundary line violation, the replay center official will only look at the position of the player's feet at the moment they touch the floor immediately prior to the release of the shot. This can be applied during other replay triggers as well."

While the overturned 3 helped his team, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he would just as soon lived without the ruling.

"I also don't like the rule that you can go back and look at an out of bounds, or LeBron's 3," Kerr said. "That seems to happen once or twice a year. I'd love to see that rule go away. I think we're trying so hard to get everything just right, at the expense of the flow. I mean, who cares if a guy's foot is half an inch on the line? Is that worth going back 45 seconds and changing everything, with the unintended consequences? It's not my favorite rule, for sure."

James, however, defended the spirit of the replay rules.