On a day in which excitement is at the forefront, seeing as the Phoenix Suns Summer League team takes the court tonight, the dark clouds on the horizon reminded us that turmoil off the court will be part of this new Suns identity during the upcoming season.
The acquisition of Miles Bridges might make sense from a basketball perspective, but for a franchise that spent the past year redefining its culture, bringing him into the organization was always going to create concern within the fan base. Rightfully
so.
And today, reports from TMZ Sports fortified those concerns. Per TMZ Sports:
According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Mychelle is facing a misdemeanor charge in North Carolina for allegedly throwing water on Miles during a custody exchange … dousing him in full view of their children.
In the docs, Miles claimed that during a June 22 custody exchange, Mychelle “threw water on me in front of the kids and said she’ll do it again if we argued.”
Miles said he asked her why she did it … and she told him it was because they were arguing. As a result, he says he’s “scared for my kid’s safety.”
Miles was granted a temporary restraining order against Mychelle earlier this year … after claiming she was cyberstalking him and showed up to one of his games in an attempt to mess with his car. Mychelle denied the claims.
The NBA star claimed Mychelle was on a “deliberate campaign of terror” to ruin his life. The court ordered Mychelle to stay away from Miles.
Mychelle filed her own docs firing back at Miles. She claimed he filed criminal charges against her for throwing water on him to harass her and have her arrested to take her away from their kids. Mychelle said Miles tried to run her over with a golf cart during a custody exchange … which led to her allegedly throwing water.
Mychelle claims Miles continues to file “false, frivolous” motions in an attempt to remove their children from her care.
Per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, the Phoenix Suns had no comment at this time.
The court of public opinion is a hostile and sometimes unforgiving place, and one of the concerns surrounding Bridges has always been how the off-court drama could ultimately affect his production and cohesion on the court. These situations don’t simply disappear once the basketball starts. They follow the player, the organization, and the fan base throughout the season, creating questions that extend far beyond wins and losses.
The Suns understood the basketball gamble when they made this trade, though it is still not finalized. They also understood everything that came with it. Every new legal development will bring renewed scrutiny, whether it’s directly tied to Bridges’ play or not, and that’s now part of the franchise’s reality.
Fair or unfair, Phoenix didn’t just acquire a talented forward. It inherited an ongoing story, one that will continue to shape how many people view this team long after the final buzzer.
