After Saturday night’s game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Charlotte Hornets, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander denied a jersey swap request from Miles Bridges. The incident was caught on camera.
After the Thunder’s 106-94 victory over the Hornets, Bridges approached Gilgeous-Alexander with a jersey swap request, a common postgame practice among NBA players. However, Gilgeous-Alexander pointed in the opposite direction and explained something to Bridges, who then seemed disappointed and walked away without the jersey swap taking place.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander refuses to swap jerseys with Miles Bridges.
A while ago, Miles Bridges beat his spouse in front of his kid.
Respect to SGA.@sorokman @idogur pic.twitter.com/aDMtsq5qiL— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) December 29, 2024
While the exact reason for Gilgeous-Alexander’s refusal hasn’t been publicly disclosed, some speculate that he may have already promised his jersey to a fan before the game. Others believe that Bridges’ controversial past, including legal issues, might have played a role in Gilgeous-Alexander’s decision.
Miles Bridges has been embroiled in legal issues since June 2022, stemming from a domestic violence incident. The situation has significantly impacted his career and raised questions about his future in the NBA.
Bridges was arrested following an alleged assault on his former girlfriend and the mother of his two children. The incident reportedly took place in front of their children, and Bridges was taken into custody by authorities in Los Angeles. He was later released after posting a $30,000 bond.
Bridges then was formally charged with one felony count of causing harm to a parent of a child and two felony counts of child abuse. He pleaded not guilty to all three charges at an arraignment the following day, before changing his plea to no contest for the felony charge of injuring a child’s parent.
As part of the plea deal, the other two felony charges were dropped. He was sentenced to three years of probation and no jail time. During his probation, Bridges was required to complete 52 weeks of domestic violence counseling, 52 weeks of parenting classes, serve 100 hours of community service, undergo weekly narcotics testing, and pay restitution and fines.
As a result of the charges and sentencing, the NBA issued a 30-game suspension without pay for Bridges. The league stated that 20 of the games were already considered served, as Bridges had missed the entirety of the 2022-23 season. The remaining 10 games were served at the beginning of the 2023-24 season.
In October 2023, Bridges faced more legal troubles when he was accused of violating a protective order and committing misdemeanor child abuse and injury to personal property.
