CA mom who ordered teen basketball player daughter to sucker-punch opponent is ordered to pay $9,000
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California mother who ordered basketball player’s teenage daughter to punch opponent has to pay $9,000 to victim’s family
- Tira Hunt, 44, was charged with contributing to the crime of a minor and battery for the November incident
- She was caught on video telling her daughter to ‘hit’ another girl after accidentally tripping during a basketball game
- Hunt entered a diversionary program and was ordered to pay $9,000 as well as writing an apology and taking an anger management course
- Her daughter, whose name has not been released because she is underage, punched Lauryn Ham, now 16, during a match in November 2021 and gave her a concussion
- It was reportedly not the first time she had become violent during a match
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A California mother has been ordered to pay back $9,000 to the victim’s family after ordering her teenage daughter to punch her opponent.
Tira Hunt – ex-girlfriend of former NBA player Corey Benjamin and mother of the then 14-year-old attacker – was charged with contributing to the crime of a minor and battery for the November incident.
She has entered into a diversionary program and has been ordered to pay the high price and write letters of apology to the victim Lauryn Ham, now 16, and her family.
Tira Hunt, 44, was charged with contributing to the crime of a minor and battery for the November incident. She has entered into a diversionary program and has been ordered to pay the high price and write letters of apology to the victim Lauryn Ham, now 16, and her family. She must also attend anger management
Tira Hunt is the ex-girlfriend of former NBA player Corey Benjamin
She escaped jail time after the judge allowed her to participate in a diversion program.
Hunt, 44, is also required to take an anger management course after instructing her daughter to “beat” Ham, then 15.
Hunt’s daughter – whose name has been withheld because she is underage – can be seen being beaten
Ham was seen falling to the ground after violently punching Lauryn Ham, now 16, in November
The video shows Hunt’s daughter – whose name has not been released because she is a minor – shoots a three-pointer when Ham comes to block her and accidentally knocks them both to the ground.
Benjamin has previously apologized for his daughter’s actions, claiming: ‘This is not how I raised my daughter’
Ham reportedly suffered a concussion.
You can hear Hunt yelling, “You must hit her.”
You can see both girls get up and walk down the field before the teen violently changes course and runs towards Ham, punching her and knocking her to the ground.
Ham’s mother, Alice, said she was “shocked” by the event and recently said in court that she “cannot let this go.”
“As a mother, I can’t sweep this under the rug in good conscience,” Alice said. “You choose to use your daughter to promote violence and you approve of your daughter. What kind of mother does that?’
Benjamin has previously apologized for his daughter’s action, claiming, “This is not how I raised my daughter.”
“To the young lady who was beaten by my daughter during a youth basketball game, I offer my sincere apologies and pray for your complete healing, both physically and emotionally,” he said at the time.
The incident was reportedly not his daughter’s first.
According to Kevin Hahn, a lawyer representing the victim’s family, the then 14-year-old was previously caught swinging at two opponents during a tournament game in September 2021.
Ham’s mum Alice (right, with daughter) said she ‘couldn’t let this go’ after her daughter suffered a brutal concussion
“It is my understanding that the organization that held the tournament has banned her and suspended her from other tournaments in their organization,” Hahn said, as quoted by NBCLA.
Hahn said it is possible that the organizers of the November tournament were not aware of the girl’s suspension.