Former Arizona men’s basketball player and current New Jersey Nets forward Richard Jefferson will be charged with one count of misdemeanor assault over an incident that took place Jan. 27, according to TMZ.com, a celebrity Web site.
According to witness Dan Graves, Jefferson – who started 77 of 84 games as a Wildcat from 1998-2001 – got into a “”minor verbal disagreement”” on a Sunday night at the Infinity, a bar at Graves/601 Hotel in Minneapolis. According to a TMZ incident report, the argument turned physical and Jefferson was on top of a customer, Lyle Fox, allegedly choking him at 1:40 a.m.
Graves claimed Jefferson was on top of Fox with his hands around Fox’s neck. When Jefferson quickly exited the club, Graves asked him to wait so that the problem could be resolved. Jefferson responded by telling Graves, “”Say another word and I will kick your ass.””
Police were not involved because Fox was not “”OK”” with them, according to the incident report.
Nets team trainer Tim Walsh was later notified of the incident.
The next evening, the Nets lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves at the nearby Target Center and Jefferson scored 35 points.
– Arizona Daily Wildcat
