South Carolina women’s basketball star Ashlyn Watkins was arrested on assault and battery and kidnapping charges.
A warrant filed by the University of South Carolina Police Department and obtained by CBS affiliate WLTX-TV says Watkins assaulted the victim by “forcefully grabbing her face, pulling her arms and pushing.”
The warrant also says the college junior picked up the victim against her will and carried her. It said Watkins “grabbed the victim’s head and forced her to walk down the hall, thus controlling her movement while preventing her from leaving.”
The victim, who was not identified in court documents, eventually got free and pulled a fire alarm, according to the warrant. This led to the arrival of first responders, who treated the victim for injuries, WLTX reported.
A women’s basketball spokeswoman said in a text to The Associated Press that the school was aware of Watkins’ arrest and was continuing to gather information. Watkins did not immediately respond to a message on social media seeking comment.
In a bond hearing on Saturday afternoon, prosecutors said both Watkins and the victim — who was said to be a minor — knew each other.
Watkins’ attorney, Todd Rutherford, told WLTX on Saturday night that he and his client are asking for the public’s patience.
“We believe once everybody has a full grasp of what happened, this will end up being a misunderstanding,” Rutherford said. “What we know for certain is that Ashlyn did not assault anyone and she did not kidnap anyone.”
Online judicial records for Richland County show that Watkins was granted a $30,000 personal recognizance bond. She was ordered to have no direct or indirect contact with the victim.
Watkins was ordered to stay 1,000 feet from the victim’s home, work, school and place of worship. She would be permitted to travel out of state for basketball games and practices.
She is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 25.
Watkins is a rising 6-foot-3 junior, who averaged 9.2 points and 7.4 rebounds last season for the Gamecocks, who went 38-0 to become the first undefeated national champions since 2016. Watkins also led the team with 91 blocks.
She became the first player in program history to dunk in a game during her freshman season, then added a second one last season.
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