An attorney for WNBA star Arike Ogunbowale has entered a plea of not guilty for a battery charge stemming from an incident at a Miami, Florida night club last month.
Ogunbowale, 29, was charged with battery – a misdemeanor – and released after posting a $1,000 bond, according to Miami-Dade court records. Ogunbowale was arrested at 4:22 a.m. on March 5, hours after her team, Mist BC, won the Unrivaled championship in Miami.
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According to court documents filed on Wednesday, April 8, the Dallas Wings shooting guard has entered a plea of not guilty to the charge through her attorney Jeffrey Neiman.
Further court dates and hearings have not yet been set.
It’s been an eventful offseason for Ogunbowale, who also got married last month to Lala Ronay.
Ogunbowale is also currently an unrestricted free agent during a busy month for the WNBA after a landmark collective bargaining agreement was finally struck between the league and its players.
According to Ogunbowale’s arrest report from the March 5 incident, a copy of which was obtained by USA Today Sports, the responding officer was working an extra duty detail at E11EVAN, a nightclub in Miami. Security personnel for the club flagged the officer down and he exited his vehicle to investigate.
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The victim told police he was trying to escort Ogunbowale out of the club “due to an unrelated altercation” and she punched him “in the face with a closed fist, causing him to fall to the ground,” according to the police report. It’s unclear based on the police report if the victim worked security for the club.
After the responding officer reviewed security camera footage and confirmed the victim’s statements, Ogunbowale was taken into custody without incident.
Ogunbowale led Notre Dame to a national championship in 2018 and has since made a name for herself as an elite scorer in the WNBA. She has finished in the top 10 of MVP voting three times, has twice been named MVP of the All-Star Game, was the WNBA scoring champion in 2020 and led the league in steals in 2024. Across her seven-year career with the Dallas Wings, she averages 19.9 points, 4.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Arike Ogunbowale pleads not guilty to battery in nightclub incident
