Former NBA player Corey Benjamin’s ex-girlfriend has now been charged for urging their daughter to sucker punch a teen girl during a high school basketball game, reports say.
Latyra Shonty Hunt, 44, was caught on video last month appearing to egg on her 14-year-old daughter to sucker-punch a 15-year-old girl on an opposing basketball team. A month later, officials are charging the woman over the incident, the Daily Mail reported.
Orange County, California, District Attorney Todd Spitzer announced the charges on Thursday, noting that Hunt’s daughter pounded 15-year-old Lauryn Ham, sending the girl “to the floor like a rag doll.” The girl suffered a concussion from the shockingly violent sneak attack.
The victim’s mother, Alice Ham, filed a police report and posted a video online that shows her daughter, Lauryn, being sucker-punched by a much larger girl at a basketball tournament in Garden Grove, California.
The shocking video shows the violent attacker being knocked over by another player and then crashing into Lauryn, who was merely standing behind the falling player. The two regain their feet and begin walking down the court when the assailant delivers a brutal roundhouse swing without warning that connected with Lauryn’s chin and throat, sending the smaller girl crumpling to the floor.
Lauryn’s mother posted the video to Instagram saying that the incident “makes me SICK to my stomach.”
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After the video went viral, the former NBA player issued a public apology to the victim of his daughter’s violent outburst.
“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,” Benjamin said in his message.
The former NBA player also said, “As a father, I’m shocked and disappointed at my daughter’s behavior as this is not a reflection of the values and standards that my family holds. Nor does it exemplify the values, character, and spirit of sportsmanship that the game of basketball requires.”
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