Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. pleaded not guilty Tuesday in New York to assaulting his girlfriend after she suffered a fractured vertebra and a cut above her eye in an attack.
Porter was charged with second-degree assault and second-degree strangulation overnight Monday after he was arrested for allegedly injuring his girlfriend, WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick, at the Millennium Hotel near Times Square.
He was released on $75,000 bail and the judge issued a temporary protective order against him.
Gondrezick told police that Porter repeatedly punched her in the face, leaving her injured above her right eye and bruised, according to the criminal complaint obtained by ESPN.
She was taken to NYU Langone Medical Center, where hospital tests revealed a fractured vertebra in her neck and bruising.
Kevin Porter Jr. appeared in court Tuesday after being arrested for assaulting his girlfriend. Porter Jr. pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree assault and strangulation
The NYPD told DailyMail.com that the 26-year-old woman had a cut on the right side of her face when she arrived at the scene. Initial investigations revealed that she had been struck multiple times, officials said.
It is alleged that the incident escalated after Porter Jr. was locked out of her hotel room.
The NBA player had reportedly returned from a night out in the early hours of Monday morning. Gondrezick was dissatisfied with how late he had returned and locked the door.
When Porter entered the room with the help of hotel security, he allegedly beat Gondrezick.
In a statement, the Rockets said they were “in the process of gathering information regarding this matter.” An investigation is ongoing.
This isn’t Porter’s first offense. In 2020, while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Porter was arrested for weapons possession and driving without a license.
Porter and Gondrezick have been together since February 2022. She posted on X, formerly Twitter, sharing photos from their one-year anniversary.
Gondrezick was the fourth pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft when she was selected as a guard for the Indiana Fever.
She was the highest selection in program history at her alma mater, West Virginia. As well as the school’s second player to join the Fever.
Gondrezick’s father, Grant William Gondrezick, was an NBA player. He played for the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers and played professionally internationally. He served as a high school basketball coach until his death in 2021.
Her parents met in 1993 and married in 1995. Kysre’s mother, Lisa Harvey-Gondrezick, is also a basketball coach.