Kevin Porter Jr. ‘should be in jail’ believes Stephen A. Smith after arrest on assault and strangulation charges for ‘attacking WNBA girlfriend Kysre Gondrezick in NYC hotel room’

Stephen A. Smith has said Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. should be in jail and fired from the team with immediate effect after his arrest on charges of assault and strangulation of his girlfriend and WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick.

Porter, a Houston Rockets guard, has pleaded not guilty to assaulting his girlfriend, former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick. 

The purported attack is said to have taken place at the Millennium Hotel near Times Square in the early hours of Monday morning. Porter was arrested at 6am on Monday.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, he should be in jail. He should not only be in jail … It should be announced that he is no longer part of the Houston Rockets effective immediately. 

‘And the NBA should follow the NFL’s rule, pertaining to prohibiting you from wearing an NBA uniform, being inside an NBA arena, playing on an NBA basketball court until the investigation is complete.’

Kevin Porter Jr appeared in court Tuesday after he was arrested for attacking his girlfriend

Kysre Gondrezick was taken to NYU Langone Medical Center following the alleged attack

New York prosecutors have made specific allegations against Porter, saying he didn’t stop punching Gondrezick until she ran into the hallway covered in blood. 

‘You don’t put your hands on a woman,’ Smith continued. ‘It’s something you simply do not do. And for Kevin Porter Jr. to do this, he has besmirched the name of the Houston Rockets. He has besmirched the NBA brand. He has sullied his damn name.’ 

The Rockets are reportedly looking to trade him, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. He reports that the Rockets are willing to move draft compensation along with Porter in order to get him off their team. Despite this, it’s not likely that any team in the league would be willing to take him.

Smith then ventured into more personality territory, as the father-of-two outlined what would occur should his daughters ever be assaulted. 

‘It’s not a popular thing to say but law enforcement’s gonna be necessary for anybody that puts their hands on my daughter,’ Smith said. ‘I promise you that.

‘Yes, I will do you harm. Anybody, anybody, any man that puts his hands on my daughter, it’s gonna be a problem.’ 

Gondrezick was taken to NYU Langone Medical Center, where testing showed a fractured vertebrae in her neck, according to prosecutors. 

‘On Monday, September 11, 2023 at approximately 0645 hours, police responded to a 911 call of an assault that occurred at the Millennium Hilton New York hotel, located at 1 UN Plaza within the confines of the 17th Precinct,’ read an NYPD statement provided to DailyMail.com. 

Porter and Gondrezick have been dating since February of 2022 

The Houston Rockets are ‘exploring options to trade guard Kevin Porter Jr.’, per The Athletic

According to police, Porter Jr. didn’t stop punching Gondrezick until she ran into the hallway 

‘Upon arrival, officers observed a 26-year-old female with a laceration to the right side of her face. A preliminary investigation on scene determined that a known individual struck her multiple times about the body and placed his hands around her neck. 

‘EMS responded and transported the aided female victim to an area hospital for a medical evaluation in stable condition. Responding officers placed a 23-year-old male in custody on scene.’

This is not Porter’s first offense. In 2020, while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Porter was arrested on a weapons charge and driving without a license.

Porter and Gondrezick have been dating since February of 2022. She posted to X, formerly Twitter, sharing photos from their one-year anniversary.

Gondrezick was the fourth pick in the 2021 WNBA draft when she was selected to play guard for the Indiana Fever. However, she struggled in the NBA and eventually bounced to the Chicago Sky for the team’s 2022 training camp before ultimately being waived.