Ex-Miami Heat player Amar'e Stoudemire charged with battery after allegedly assaulting his teen daughter
MIAMI -- Amar'e Stoudemire, the former NBA star who played for the Miami Heat and New York Knicks, was arrested Saturday at his Brickell condo after he was accused of punching and slapping one of his teen daughters and leaving her bloody, according to a police report.
Stoudemire, 40, was charged with battery in connection with the domestic violence incident and taken to the city jail before being released on a $1,500 bond, the police report says. It was not immediately clear if a court date has been set yet in the case.
Investigators said they saw pictures from the girl's mother -- Stoudemire's ex-wife -- that showed the child crying and bloody.
"I observed blood stains on the victim's sweater and sweatpants," an arresting officer wrote in the report. "The mother of the victim showed me the photo she received from her daughter, which shows the victim crying and blood running down her face."
The 6-foot-10 player who weighs over 250 pounds, left the NBA when he stopped playing for the Miami Heat in 2016.
He has two daughters, a 17 year old and 14 years old.
The police report does not indicate which of the girls was involved in the altercation.
According to the police report, officers were called to the players home in the 900 block of Brickell Key Blvd., around 10 p.m.
The dispute apparently began when the girl's grandmother called for her and Stoudemire did not like the way he spoke to the woman, the police report says.
Father and daughter then had a disagreement over whether the young girl had an "attitude," according to the report.
The verbal dispute apparently escalated when the athlete said the girl was "talking back again" before punching her on the right side of her face and repeatedly slapping her, first in the face and then on the left side of her body, according to the police report.
The girl called her mother and asked her to come pick her up because she was sad over the incident.
Stoudemire told police that his daughter was sad "because she received a whooping from him for being disrespectful and a lair."
The player refused to elaborate further on the incident and requested a lawyer.
In a tweet Stoudemire said in part, "as the investigation unfolds, the facts will show the allegations to be groundless as my daughter's medical condition is not the result of being assaulted by a father who is nearly 7 feet tall and weighs 250 pounds. I could never see myself assaulting any person, especially my children."
The player began his NBA career in 2002 after being drafted from Cypress Creek High School in Orlando.
He signed with the Knicks in 2010 as a free agent before going to the Dallas Mavericks.
He left the NBA after playing for the Miami Heat.