Rajon Rondo: NBA star is said to have threatened his ex

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Rajon Rondo in the Cleveland Cavaliers jersey

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Ron Schwane/AP

Basketball star Rajon Rondo may face major legal problems.

The two-time NBA champion, most recently with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the North American professional league NBA, is said to have threatened a woman with a gun in the presence of children last week.

According to reports from ESPN and TMZ, the person concerned reported the incident to the police in Rondo's hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.

The woman is said to be Rondo's ex-partner and mother of two children.

The 36-year-old is said to have left the woman's house in anger after she disturbed him while playing with one of the children.

A little later, Rondo returned armed and threatened the woman.

The person concerned then went to the police because she feared for her own safety and that of the children, it said.

The local authorities then issued a protective order.

Rondo is temporarily banned from getting close to his ex-partner and children and has had to surrender all of his firearms.

Rondo is not an isolated case in US sport

NBA officials confirmed they were aware of the allegations.

The league is in the process of “collecting more information”.

Such incidents are not uncommon in US sports.

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman was released on bail in 2008 after injuring his then partner Gina Peterson's arm.

Metta Sandiford-Artest, then known as Ron Artest, was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence against his wife.

Major League Baseball (MLB) took a stand against domestic violence in 2020: Domingo German, pitcher for the New York Yankees, had to sit out about four months after his girlfriend made allegations against the professional.

A similar punishment could now threaten Rondo.

The basketball player recently ended his 16th NBA season.

The four-time All-Star sits 14th on the all-time leaderboard with more than 7,500 assists.

In 2008 he won the championship with the Boston Celtics, in 2020 he repeated the success with the Los Angeles Lakers alongside LeBron James.

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