The NBA reportedly never spoke to the woman at the heart of domestic abuse allegations against Lakers star Jaxson Hayes.
The then-Pelicans center was arrested amid accusations he hit his ex-girlfriend, Sofia Jamora, back in July 2021. Recently released footage appears to show him shoving and spitting at Jamora.
Hayes pleaded no contest to charges of false imprisonment and resisting an officer. The 24-year-old was sentenced to three years’ probation, 450 hours of community service and a year of weekly domestic violence classes. But Hayes escaped punishment by the NBA.
According to ESPN, Jamora’s lawyers recall receiving a call from the league’s legal department over the incident. They claim to have returned the call and left a message, only to never hear back.
‘They didn’t follow up with me,’ Waukeen McCoy told ESPN. ‘If they were actually doing a thorough investigation, they would have reached out to her lawyer and obtained info from us.’
LA Lakers star Jaxson Hayes was seen spitting at his then-girlfriend in shocking new footage
Hayes (left) was arrested in 2021 over a dispute involving his ex-partner Sofia Jamora (right)
The NBA appears to dispute that version of events, telling ESPN that a league investigator ‘reached out multiple times to Laura Stone, Ms. Jamora’s representative (and McCoy’s colleague), and we did not receive a response.’
Earlier this month, the NBA reopened its investigation into the 2021 incident after the shocking new footage emerged.
Jamora’s lawyers told ESPN that they would ‘definitely encourage’ her to speak to the league after TMZ Sports shared five-and-a-half minutes of security camera footage of the dispute.
But her attorneys insist they have not heard from the NBA since the league announced it would reopen its probe.
In the clip, the Lakers center first appeared to pull his then-girlfriend out of a doorway at around 1:35am while she said: ‘Stop! Let go of me!’
After she ran into another room off-camera, Hayes followed her before shouting: ‘What the f*** is wrong with you?’
Jamora, who had initially blamed Hayes’ dogs for injuring her smaller pup before the argument broke out, can be heard telling her partner to ‘get out’ before he eventually reappeared on the Ring cam at around 1:47am.
The basketball player’s cousin tried to calm him down to no avail as he returned to Jamora’s room before a loud crash was heard. The latter then appeared to shout in pain while asking him to stop once again.
Jamora can be heard accusing Hayes of hitting her in security camera footage of the incident
The NBA announced it is reopening its investigation into the Lakers center three years on
Just after 2am, the couple were shown leaving the residence and continuing their argument in the driveway as Jamora said: ‘I’m not going to let you hit me anymore. What the f*** do I look like, a punching bag?’
Not long after she made that comment, Hayes appeared to shove Jamora aside and walk away, before turning around to spit in her direction.
The influencer was then heard telling his cousin to get him off the premises before admitting: ‘I don’t know what else to do.’
Photos taken after the incident show Jamora’s legs and arms covered in bruises.
An attorney for Hayes told ESPN that they are prepared to cooperate with the NBA and accused Jamora’s team of leaking the footage to TMZ – an allegation they deny.
Hayes was seen pushing an officer before he was tasered and arrested after the incident. According to a deposition by the cop, the NBA star later paid him $150,000 to cover his injuries.
Hayes put pen to paper on a two-year, $4.6million contract with the Lakers in 2023 after ending his five-year stint with the Pelicans.
