NBA star Miles Bridges has accused Mychelle Johnson, the mother of his four children, of assault and battery, claiming she threw water on him during their ongoing custody dispute.
According to court filings obtained by The Daily Mail, Bridges says Johnson doused him in water in full view of their kids on June 22, when he arrived to collect them for his scheduled parenting time. He claims she then threatened to do it again if they kept arguing.
Bridges says he documented the incident afterward by messaging Johnson through a co-parenting app: "So it's funny to throw water on me in front of my kids?" She allegedly replied, according to the court documents: "you were cussing infront of them scaring them SO i played it off SO they would laugh they did."
Johnson is also accused of denying Bridges his scheduled parenting time and taking their four children from North Carolina to Florida. "The Mother has repeatedly placed the children in the middle of the parties' dispute, used the children as leverage against the Father, exposed the children to an act of physical violence committed against the Father, and then attempted to cause the children to laugh at or minimize that conduct," Bridges' attorneys wrote in the filing.
Custody request
"Exposing young children to an assault upon their Father and then trivializing that assault is harmful to their emotional health, safety, and welfare," the filing states. Bridges is now seeking primary physical custody of the children, along with joint legal custody that would require Johnson to be supervised by a qualified third-party during her parenting time.
The Daily Mail has contacted Johnson and her attorneys at Conley Law Office for comment. She is facing misdemeanor charges of assault and battery over the alleged water incident.
Restraining order
Bridges was granted a temporary restraining order against Johnson in May after accusing her of cyberstalking him and damaging his car at one of his basketball games. Johnson denied the claims.
The order bars Johnson from coming within 500 feet of Bridges, his current girlfriend Shara, the three children he shares with her, his home and his workplace. Previous court filings have also accused Johnson of calling his attorneys under an assumed name to make false pregnancy claims and of telling their children he had no interest in seeing them.
A Mecklenburg County judge denied an earlier custody request from Bridges on April 10 because it "failed to articulate how the children were at substantial risk," according to an order reviewed by The Daily Mail.
2022 domestic violence case
Bridges pleaded no contest in 2022 to a felony domestic violence charge for injuring Johnson in front of their children in June of that year. Johnson later shared photos of injuries she said came from the attack, though she did not name Bridges and later deleted the post.
He avoided jail time under his plea agreement and was sentenced to three years of probation. In October 2023, a criminal summons was issued against Bridges accusing him of violating a protection order tied to the 2022 case.
Bridges' NBA career
A former Michigan State standout, Bridges was a first-round pick of the Los Angeles Clippers in 2018 before being traded to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for future MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Over seven NBA seasons he has averaged 15.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Bridges has earned $76 million over his career and is due to make $22.8 million with the Hornets next season.
