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Willie Reed's wife won't press charges in alleged domestic violence incident

Willie Reed, then of the Miami Heat, tries to score against Kelly Olynyk, then of the Boston Celtics. (AP)
Willie Reed, then of the Miami Heat, tries to score against Kelly Olynyk, then of the Boston Celtics. (AP)

An attorney representing the wife of Los Angeles Clippers center Willie Reed issued a statement on her behalf Wednesday, saying that she doesn’t plan to press charges against her husband after he was arrested Sunday morning on suspicion of misdemeanor battery in an alleged domestic violence incident.

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From Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel:

The statement released by Miami-based attorney Ivlis Mantilla from Jasmine Reed reads:

“This incident has been totally blown out of proportion. I did not call the police and I did not ask anyone to call the police on my behalf. Willie is a good man and a great father. I have no intention of pressing charges and I have asked the authorities to immediately dismiss all charges against Willie. This is a private matter between my husband and I and for the sake of our family I would like to keep it that way.”

The Associated Press reported Sunday that Jasmine Reed had initially told police that her husband “dragged her across the apartment while wrestling for a purse and later pulled her hair and grabbed her by the wrist during an argument Saturday night,” according to a police report:

Reed’s wife told police the argument started when she told her husband she wanted a divorce. She said she was knocked to the ground while struggling over her purse and dragged around the apartment until the strap broke. She also alleged Reed tore her shirt as she went to the lobby of the apartment building to notify the concierge, then returned to get her two children.

When the woman picked up her youngest son and started to exit the apartment again, she told police that Reed grabbed her by the hair to take the child back, then grabbed her left wrist and twisted her arm to get her to the ground. She said she responded by hitting Reed in the head with a glass candle.

Reed told police that he never put his hands on his wife, but he did acknowledge grabbing her shirt and her purse, according to the police report. He also told police that he touched his wife as she was getting on the elevator.

Police said Reed’s wife had red marks on her left wrist, right biceps, back and chest.

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Three days later, though, Jasmine Reed said in an affidavit filed in court that she wishes to “drop all charges against the Defendant, Willie Reed.”

“No person has used any force, threats, intimidation or pressure to make me sign this request,” she said in the affidavit. “I do not desire to have a stay order in effect. I do not fear Willie Reed, nor do I fear that I will be the victim of violence [ … ] I do not wish or intent to pursue this matter any further.”

Willie Reed, 27, went undrafted out of Saint Louis in 2011, and spent parts of three seasons in the D-League before catching on with the Brooklyn Nets for the 2015-16 campaign. Injuries limited him to just under half a season in Brooklyn, but he impressed enough in his limited time as an energetic rebounder, shot-blocker and finisher to get a chance with the Miami Heat last season.

Reed averaged 5.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game in 71 appearances, mostly off the bench, for Erik Spoelstra’s club. He’d had his sights set on a more lucrative multi-year deal in free agency this summer, but with few teams eager to spend on big men, he wound up agreeing to terms on a one-year, minimum-salaried contract to join the Clippers.

“Willie is looking forward to putting this behind him and focusing on his family and his new team,” his attorney, David O. Markus, told the AP.

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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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