Hornets Small Forward Jeff Taylor Charged With Domestic Assault [Update]

Charlotte Hornets small forward Jeff Taylor was arrested at a hotel in East Lansing, Michigan, Thursday morning. According to WCNC, Taylor was charged with "one count of domestic assault, assault and malicious destruction of property." The details surrounding the arrest are scant, and it is not immediately clear what Taylor (who is Swedish and went to college at Vanderbilt) was doing in Michigan or who he is charged with assaulting.

Update: Here's the complaint.

Taylor's arrest shines a bright spotlight on Hornets owner Michael Jordan and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who will be expected to handle the situation better than the NFL is handling its high-profile domestic violence cases. On Monday Silver t old reporters that the NBA was reexamining its domestic violence policies in light of the NFL's troubles:

"We have in place the appropriate mechanisms for discipline, although we'll take a fresh look at those as well," Silver said. "But most importantly, it's education, and it's not just the players, but it's the players' families. That's what we're learning, too.

"We have to take these programs directly to the players' spouses, directly to their partners so that they're aware of places they can go to express concerns, whether they're anonymous hotlines, team executives, league executives. And we're consulting experts. There's a lot to be learned here. It's a societal problem; it's not one that's unique to sports."

Currently the league's collective bargaining agreement stipulates "a minimum 10-game suspension for a first offense of a player convicted of a violent felony," but Taylor is a long way away from a trial, let alone a conviction. One things the Hornets will not have to immediately decide: whether to let Taylor plays through the legal proceedings. The NBA season doesn't start for another month.

[ WCNC]

Photo via Mike Ehrmann/Getty