In what could be described as the first high profile domestic violence case for a female athlete, the University of New Mexico suspended star women’s basketball player Ebony Walker indefinitely after she was arrested for allegedly assaulting her boyfriend according to KRQE.
Walker allegedly threw a knife at her boyfriend after they argued at her apartment in Albuquerque on Tuesday night.
She was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault and domestic violence.
According to the authorities, neighbors say they saw Walker chase her boyfriend through an apartment complex parking lot and that she threw a knife at him.
A witness said that the knife did not strike the man but “landed right behind him.”
Walker, a transfer from Texas Tech, told police she grabbed some kitchen knives, and her boyfriend ran out of the apartment with her phone when she threw a knife at him.
New Mexico head coach Yvonne Sanchez said that Walker will not be allowed to practice with the team and won’t play in Sunday’s exhibition game against Eastern New Mexico.
“When people put their hands on each other in an angry manner, it’s not okay. Either way, it’s not okay, and I don’t take it lightly, I take it very seriously,” said Sanchez.
Walker, a 6-foot-2 senior center, only played in three games last season because of an Achilles injury, but averaged 10.3 points and 5.7 rebounds in the games she did appear in.