Kings guard Darren Collison dodged a bullet Friday morning, accepting a plea deal in his domestic violence case that’s lasted for several months.
According to reports, Collison pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor domestic violence, and was given a 20-day jail sentence. Collison will serve the sentence in an Alternative Sentencing Program, working on various Community Service projects, CSN Bay Area reports.
Collison is not expected to serve any actual jail time, although the possibility still exists.
Along with community service, Collison was also sentenced to three years of informal probation and is being forced to attend a “Batterer Treatment” class that lasts an entire year.
“Words cannot describe the feelings and regret that I have been experiencing the last few months,” Collison said in an official statement. “My family and I found ourselves in such an unfamiliar situation and it has been a difficult few months. This is far from who I am as a person and not something I am proud of. I take full responsibility for my actions. I have apologized to my beautiful wife that I have known and loved since high schooI. I appreciate and am thankful for the love and understanding from my family, friends and supporters. Now it is time to put this behind us and move forward.”
The Kings released a statement of their own, as well:
“Domestic violence is a serious issue across our nation and one that runs contrary to our organization’s values. We’re disappointed by Darren’s behavior and today he accepted full responsibility for his actions. He is committed to using this incident to help raise awareness through education of this critical issue in the community. We’re working with Darren and the NBA on the appropriate next steps.”
Collison, 29, averaged 14 points, 4.3 assists, and shot a career-best 49% from the field in 74 games with the Kings last season.
Darren Collison is expected to be suspended by the Kings, with recent free-agent addition Ty Lawson likely gaining an opportunity at being named starting point guard.
While it’s not known how long Collison would be suspended, the last time an NBA player was involved in domestic violence-related incident (Jeffrey Taylor of the Hornets), he was suspended for 24 games.
