Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. was arrested early Monday morning in New York City and charged with assault and strangulation after an incident involving his girlfriend, former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick, per ESPN. Both charges are felonies. Porter was required to post $75,000 bail or a $100,000 bond for his release. He's also been told to stay away from Gondrezick.
Porter Jr. was returning from a night out to a hotel where he and Gondrezick were staying, according to ABC News. Gondrezick was upset with the hour in which Porter Jr. was returning and locked the door. After entering the room with help of hotel security, the Rockets guard allegedly "beat up" Gondrezick. According to a police report filed regarding the incident, Gondrezick told police that Porter punched her repeatedly in the face, leaving her with a cut above her right eye and bruises to her face. Gondrezick also said Porter squeezed her neck, making it difficult to breath and caused bruising to her neck. Hospital tests showed that Gondrezick sustained a fractured vertebrae in her neck.
In a statement released Monday, NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said the league is aware of the reports and is "gathering more information" about Porter Jr.
This isn't Porter Jr.'s first run-in with the law. In August 2020 he was accused of punching a woman and pulling her hair while in downtown Cleveland. In that incident the woman alleged that Porter ripped out her weave while in an argument with Porter's sister and that the Rockets guard punched her in the face. Porter was not charged for that incident.
In November 2020 when he was still a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, he was arrested for being in possession of a loaded gun after getting into a single-car accident. He was later released after posting a $4,000 bond.
After one season with the Cavaliers, Porter Jr. was traded to the Rockets in 2021 following a locker room outburst in which he was angry that his locker had been given to someone else. Porter reportedly began yelling and at one point threw food, and despite Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman stepping in to calm him down, Porter remained "combative." After the incident he was told to clean out his locker and his teammates were told he would no longer be a member of the team. Four days later he was traded to Houston.
Porter Jr. is due back in court in New York on Oct. 16.
