The NFL probably doesn't mind sharing the spotlight with the NBA over this bit of news.
ESPN.com is reporting that former Miami Heat center and No. 1 pick in the 2007 NBA draft Greg Oden is facing a November trial for a felony domestic violence charge for allegedly beating his ex-girlfriend in August.
Former Miami Heat center Greg Oden calls himself one of the biggest busts in NBA history.
The 26-year-old Olden, played last season with the Miami Heat, is facing one count of felony and two misdemeanor battery charges for his alleged role in an Aug. 7 attack on a 24-year-old woman at his mother's home in suburban Indianapolis.
Marion County police responded to a call at Oden's home at 3:30 a.m. and witnessed a woman with cuts and bruises on her face on a blood-splattered sofa.
Greg Oden's rehab with the Miami Heat includes going to Hooters to watch a Miami Heat game?
The woman was treated for a fracture nose, a swollen eye and a cut on her forehead that were the result of at least three punches thrown to her face, according to police and court documents.
Oden, who has been allowed to leave the state but was required to wear a GPS device from the time he was formally charged, couldn't be reached for comment Monday. Indianapolis lawyer James Bell did not return phone messages seeking comment.
In the arrest report, Oden told police he had "punched her in the face" during an argument that had "gotten out of control."
The case is the latest of several high-profile domestic-violence incidents involving professional athletes. Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice's Valentine's Day video, in which he punched his then-fiancée Janay Palmer in an Atlantic City casino elevator, has brought the discussion of domestic violence to the forefront of American sports culture.
In addition to Oden and Rice, NFL players Ray McDonald and Greg Hardy either were arrested or are facing domestic violence charges for incidents that occurred in the past eight months.
South African double-amputee Oscar Pistorius was found guilty of culpable murder against Reeva Steenkamp in the early morning hours of Valentine's Day, 2013.
With professional sports going through one of its bouts of adversity for the number of domestic violence cases having been reported, Oden's return to the NBA is in a tenuous standstill until he goes to trial. With "domestic violence" being thrown around as a buzz word, Oden certainly does not want to become that part of the conversation, which is hurting his chances of returning to the NBA in 2014-15.
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