Basketball
An American was kicked out of the NBA for stripping in front of a psychologist. Now they can also plant
Joshua Primo / Photo: © Megan Briggs / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru
The career of a promising basketball player ended due to unusual addictions.
The NBA season has recently begun, teams are only looking for the best game, but the level of scandal in the league is already approaching a peak in many years. Now the spotlight is on young San Antonio talent Joshua Primo, who is facing criminal prosecution for… nudity in front of a psychologist.
It seems that now the mental health specialist herself will need a psychologist.
The session with the psychologist did not go according to plan.
Shooting guard Joshua Primo is in his second season in the National Basketball Association with the San Antonio Spurs. The club had high hopes for the 12th pick in the 2021 draft, recently activating a contract extension option for a third season. This season, the player managed to play four games, in which he scored an average of 7 points and made 4.5 assists.
But Primo’s career was suddenly interrupted right at the start of the regular season. On October 28, the Spurs expelled the player due to a sex scandal. According to American publications, the athlete was naked nine times in front of former team psychologist Hillary Cauthen, who helped the team improve performance.
According to the doctor, the player undressed nine times in front of her during their sessions. At the same time, Hillary repeatedly complained about the unacceptable behavior of the basketball player to the management of San Antonio, but no action was taken there. As a result, when Cauthen’s contract with the club came to an end, the leaders did not renew the agreement, opting for a promising player. The team referred to the fact that the psychologist could not find a common language with the players and earn their trust.
“Dr. Cauthen’s claims are a complete fabrication”
Naturally, in modern American society, this story could not have ended with nothing more than scandal and litigation. Cauthen filed a lawsuit against the team in order to receive compensation for the moral damage caused. She also moved the proceedings to the public field. Hillary began making press statements.
I am a certified sports psychologist. I am a mother of four wonderful daughters. I am a woman and I am a victim, — quotes the words of Cauthen edition of The Athletic.
Only after public disclosure and receiving a lawsuit did the club decide to remove the player from performances. But at the same time, the leadership of San Antonio for some reason did not want to admit their guilt in what happened.
“We do not agree with the interpretation of the facts presented, the details, and the timing of what happened, but we will allow the trial to take place,” the Spurs said in a statement.
Even the police became interested in the conflict between a sports psychologist and a basketball player. Following the filing of the complaint, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Primo was under criminal investigation for repeatedly displaying his naked body in public.
The basketball player’s lawyer denies all the accusations against the client, trying to build a defense on the accusations against the psychologist.
“Dr. Cauthen’s claims are complete fabrication, either gross embellishment or pure fantasy. Josh Primo never purposely stripped in front of her or anyone else. He didn’t even know that his private parts were visible from the shorts, the lawyer justified Primo.
At the same time, the lawyer also tried to play on the current topic of racial discrimination against blacks in the United States in order to justify his client in the eyes of the public.
Josh Primo is a 19-year-old NBA player who has endured trauma and trials all his life. Now he is being pursued by a former sports psychologist for a team that plays on ugly stereotypes and racial fears for its own financial gain, The Athletic’s lawyer quotes.
It is not yet known how law enforcement authorities qualify the actions of a basketball player, but if his guilt is proven, then serious damage will be done to his NBA career. And with the most negative option, Joshua may lose his freedom.
Source: Sportbox
I am a sports journalist who has been writing for a news website since 2015. My work primarily focuses on sports news, but I have also written about other topics such as technology and the arts. I have an extensive background in journalism, having worked as a reporter for a local newspaper before moving to a news website.