Hawks' Rajon Rondo Sued for Assault, Attorney Calls Case 'Meritless'

Atlanta Hawks guard Rajon Rondo and his girlfriend are being sued for allegedly pushing a woman in a parking garage and causing her "permanent disability."

Hawks point guard Rajon Rondo and his girlfriend are facing an assault and battery lawsuit. 

A woman who said she lives in the same apartment building as Rondo's girlfriend said the couple pushed her during a dispute over where she parked in the building's parking garage.

“The case is meritless," Rondo’s attorney, Mark D. Baute, said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I have seen the videotape. Mr. Rondo was polite throughout the encounter, the claimant was not wearing a mask and was unstable and rude. We look forward to defending the case and winning.”

In response to TMZ story, Rondo's attorney, Mark D. Baute, says:

"The case is meritless. I have seen the videotape. Mr. Rondo was polite throughout the encounter, the claimant was not wearing a mask and was unstable and rude. We look forward to defending the case and winning."

— Sarah K. Spencer (@sarah_k_spence) December 18, 2020

TMZ Sports obtained the lawsuit filed by Toktam Jorshari, who said she has video of the incident.

TMZ reported that Jorshari is suing the two “for assault and battery, infliction of emotional distress, and conspiracy,” and is “seeking unspecified damages in excess of $1 million.”

According to the lawsuit and the outlet, Jorshari said that on July 28, Rondo parked his car in a handicapped parking space at the apartment complex even though his car didn't have a handicapped placard. She said that she pulled into the spot next to him to unload a table she just bought. In turn, it blocked access to the driver’s side of Rondo’s vehicle. 

Rondo then "flew off the handle," according to the lawsuit, and apparently shouted at Jorshari, "B----, why do you think you can park here?"

Tensions reportedly escalated, and Jorshari alleged that Rondo “with an extended arm, pushed and shoved [Jorshari] against her vehicle.” The woman stated that the push "was so violent and forceful that [Jorshari's] sandal shoe flew off her foot and her keys which she held in her hand flew out of her hand and broke into two pieces when the key fell onto the ground."

Jorshari said that Rondo’s girlfriend “proceeded to repeatedly physically attack [Jorshari] by striking her in the area of her head and upper body” once she was on the ground, per TMZ. She said that she didn’t fight back and that Rondo gave the “green light” for his girlfriend to attack her. 

Jorshari said that she was physically injured and that a few of the injuries led to “permanent disability.”

Per TMZ, she said that the entire incident was caught on the parking garage's surveillance video, and the tape is in her possession. 

Rondo played for the Lakers before the Hawks signed him to a two-year contract in free agency in November. The Lakers were playing in the NBA bubble in Florida at the time of the incident; however, Rondo returned to Los Angeles on July 15 for surgery and rehab for his thumb injury.