Ex-NBA player apologizes for daughter’s brutal basketball sucker punch
Corey Benjamin, who played three seasons with the Chicago Bulls and part of one with the Atlanta Hawks, has apologized after his daughter sucker-punched and concussed an opponent.
Video of the brutal incident at a girls basketball tournament went viral earlier this week.
“This is not how I raised my daughter,” Benjamin told NBC Los Angeles.
In the video, Benjamin’s daughter missed a shot. With her team down double-digits, she socked 15-year-old Lauryn Ham, a player on the other team.
Benjamin apologized to the teen who was struck, and said that he was “shocked and disappointed” in his daughter, who made a mistake “that she will need to make right.”
A referee from the basketball game corroborated to NBC Los Angeles what the victim’s mother had told media outlets earlier this week, that Benjamin’s daughter was urged on to strike the victim by her own mother – who allegedly said, “You better go hit her.”
“To the young lady who was punched by my daughter during a youth basketball game, I sincerely apologize to you and I am praying for your complete healing both physically and emotionally,” Benjamin said. “To her family, I deeply apologize and regret that this happened to your daughter as she did not deserve this to happen to her. Finally, I apologize to all of those who have been impacted and hurt by the actions of my daughter as well as those of her mother. I am here for your family and wish only the best for you.”
Lauryn Ham’s mother said earlier this week that her daughter was disoriented from a concussion after the incident, and that she had filed a police report.
“As a father, I’m shocked and disappointed at my daughter’s behavior as this is not a reflection of the values and standards that my family holds,” Benjamin said. “Nor does it exemplify the values, character and spirit of sportsmanship that the game of basketball requires. My daughter made a mistake. One that she will need to make right. I am committed to getting my daughter any help she may need and support her in taking accountability for her conduct.”
Between 1998 and 2003, Benjamin appeared in 153 NBA games, in which he averaged 14.3 minutes and 5.5 points.