WNBA star Arike Ogunbowale was arrested in Miami early Thursday morning on misdemeanor battery charges just hours after she won Unrivaled’s second championship with the Mist.
Ogunbowale, who plays for the Dallas Wings in the WNBA, was arrested at 4:22 a.m. on Thursday outside of a Miami nightclub, per a copy of the police report. She was later released on bond. The police report states that Ogunbowale, who was being escorted out of E11even due to an unrelated altercation, punched a man with a closed fist and he fell to the ground. The police said that they reviewed CCTV footage and confirmed the victim’s statement. Per the police report, Ogunbowale was taken into custody without incident.
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The Wings said in a statement that they are “in the process of gathering more information” and would reserve comment until gathering more details about the incident.
Excel Management, which manages Ogunbowale, directed The Athletic to Unrivaled’s statement when reached for comment. Unrivaled said in a statement, “The league is aware of an incident involving Arike Ogunbowale and we are in the process of gathering additional information. We’re in contact with Arike and her representatives.”
Ogunbowale, a seven-year WNBA vet, is a four-time All-Star. During her first few offseasons in the WNBA, like many players, Ogunbowale played overseas in Turkey and Russia. Last year, she spent her offseason competing in Unrivaled, the new three-on-three league, playing for Vinyl before competing for Mist this season. The Mist won the league title this year, splitting the $600,000 pot between six players.
Ogunbowale initially rose to fame at Notre Dame, where she led the Fighting Irish to four consecutive ACC titles and NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 2018 national title. That run included Ogunbowale hitting two buzzer-beaters in a Final Four win against UConn and in the national title against Mississippi State.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Dallas Wings, WNBA
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