MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Minnesota Timberwolves forward Dante Cunningham posted $150,000 bail and was released from custody Monday night following an initial court appearance for domestic assault charges, with the possibility that more charges could be coming from a second arrest over the weekend.
Cunningham was arrested twice in three days after alleged incidents with the woman he had been living with for the previous eight months. Cunningham was charged Friday with felony domestic assault for allegedly choking the woman.
Police said they received a call from the woman in the early morning hours on Sunday saying that Cunningham had violated a protection order by sending threatening text messages that “rose to a terroristic level.” Authorities have not charged Cunningham on those allegations and are continuing to investigate.
Cunningham surrendered Sunday and turned over his cellphone and computer as part of the investigation. The Associated Press left a message with Cunningham’s attorney seeking comment.
The Timberwolves said Sunday they were gathering information about Cunningham’s latest arrest.
“The situation with Dante Cunningham is very fluid and we continue to monitor all available information,” the team said. “We reiterate that the Minnesota Timberwolves do not condone the behavior described in the accusations. We continue to wait for the legal process to run its course and will have further comment when appropriate.”
The Wolves declined to comment much further after practice on Monday.
“I really don’t know all the circumstances so it’s just something that we’ll have to wait and see what happens with that and we’ll move on when we find out,” coach Rick Adelman said.
Cunningham played for the Timberwolves in Orlando on Saturday night. The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement requires the league and the Timberwolves to allow Cunningham to return to work while the legal process plays out.
“Nothing’s happened to him (yet),” Adelman said. “He wanted to play. I think it’s a situation where you have to listen to the league, you have to listen to different things. Right now I don’t have any information at all about what happened.”
Cunningham started against the Magic for the injured Kevin Love and had 12 points and six rebounds in 34 minutes.
In his fifth year in the league, Cunningham is averaging 6.1 points and 4.1 rebounds this season. He is set to become a free agent on July 1 after completing the final year of his contract that pays him $2.1 million this season.
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Associated Press Writer Amy Forliti contributed to this report.
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