NBA suspends Hornets forward Jeffery Taylor 24 games

The NBA announced Wednesday that it has suspended Charlotte Hornets forward Jeffery Taylor 24 games for his domestic violence incident. He pled guilty to two charges stemming from the incident late last month.

The NBA announced Wednesday that it has suspended Charlotte Hornets forward Jeffery Taylor 24 games for his domestic violence incident. 

Taylor was arrested Sept. 25 and charged with assault, misdemeanor domestic assault and misdemeanor malicious destruction of property. later pleading guilty to the latter two charges on Oct. 29. The assault charge was dropped as a part of his plea deal.

Taylor said in court that he pushed his then-girlfriend, damaging a wall in an East Lansing, Mich., hotel. 

In his opinion, NBA commissioner Adam Silver highlighted his commitment to stopping domestic violence, saying the issue has the league's full attention. 

I have the responsibility to safeguard the best interests of the league and all of its constituents. ln addition to its profound impact on victims, domestic violence committed by any member of the NBA family causes damage to the league and undermines the public's confidence in it.

The Hornets suspended Taylor indefinitely the day after his arrest and said they would decide on his possible reinstatement after the NBA concluded its own investigation.

Because Taylor has already missed the first 11 games of the season, he must sit out 13 games to satisfy the terms of the NBA's suspension. Taylor will be eligible to return for the Hornets' Dec. 17 game against the Phoenix Suns.

Taylor's arrest was the NBA's first domestic violence incident after the issue became a national topic in the wake of the Ray Rice controversy in the NFL. In the NHL, Los Angeles Kings defenseman Slava Voynov was suspended indefinitely by the league after his October domestic violence arrest.

Taylor was sentenced to 18 months' probation after his guilty plea. The domestic assault misdemeanor carries up to 93 days in jail, but the prosecutor in the case said at the time Taylor entered his plea that it wouldn't object to the judge ordering Taylor to be placed in a probation diversion program.

A second-round pick of Charlotte in the 2012 NBA draft, Taylor has averaged 6.6 points in 103 career games.

- Ben Estes