BOSTON (AP) - The Latest on Boston Celtics guard Jabari Bird (all times local):
4:20 p.m.
Boston Celtics guard Jabari Bird says he’s taking some time off as he deals with his health and domestic violence charges involving an alleged assault of his girlfriend.
Bird says in a statement issued Thursday that he’s “taking some time away from the team as I deal with my legal and medical issues.”
He is apologizing to his family, the Celtics, his teammates, fans and the NBA “for the unnecessary distraction that I have caused.”
The 24-year-old player says he doesn’t condone violence against women and hopes eventually to regain the public’s trust.
Bird was ordered held on $50,000 bail Thursday. Prosecutors say he choked his girlfriend, kicked her and prevented her from leaving his apartment before he collapsed in distress.
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4 p.m.
Prosecutors say Boston Celtics guard Jabari Bird choked his girlfriend multiple times, kicked her and prevented her from leaving his apartment before he collapsed in distress.
The 24-year-old player was held on $50,000 bail Thursday after not-guilty pleas to domestic violence-related charges were entered on his behalf.
Authorities say police spoke with Bird’s girlfriend, a student at a local college, at a city hospital after his arrest last Friday.
Police say Bird choked the woman unconscious, threw her against the wall and dragged her by the ankles when she tried to leave his apartment in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston.
Bird spent several days in a hospital. The woman was released from the hospital without serious injury.
The Celtics have called the allegations disturbing and said the team’s “thoughts are with the victim.”
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