Memphis women’s basketball star Jamirah Shutes has pled not guilty to assault charges after she appeared to sucker-punch an opponent in the handshake line.
Last week, after Memphis lost to Bowling Green 73-60 in the NIT, Shutes stopped during the handshake line to say something to opposing player Elissa Brett, and then appeared to sock her.
The next day, Shutes, who was second-team All-AAC this season and was Memphis’ leading scorer at 15.3 points per game, was charged with assault by the Bowling Green State University Police Department.
Shutes was represented in court on Wednesday by attorney Steven Crossmock, who submitted the not-guilty plea on her behalf, according to TMZ.
The report said that there is “tentatively” another hearing in the case set for April.
It is unclear what sparked the confrontation in the handshake line.
Shutes was elbowed in the face late in the first half, according to the Memphis Commercial-Appeal, but returned to the game.
Bowling Green issued a statement last Friday announcing the charges.
“Following Thursday’s unwarranted physical incident after the WNIT home game, the Bowling Green State University Police Department has charged a member of the Memphis Women’s Basketball team with assault,” the statement said.
“Additionally, BGSU Athletics is conducting its own review. Violence is never acceptable and our priority remains the health, safety and support of our student-athlete, who is recovering and doing well.
“This is an active investigation in conjunction with the City of Bowling Green Prosecutor, and no further comment is available at this time.”
The Memphis athletic department issued a statement saying that the punch was inconsistent with the values of the program.
“The incident that occurred following Thursday’s women’s basketball game was extremely unfortunate and certainly not consistent with, or representative of, our expectations for our programs and student-athletes,” Memphis’ statement said.
“Because the incident occurred after the game, jurisdiction falls in the hands of local authorities, and we are cooperating fully with their process.”
