Mom of teen who punched rival at basketball game ordered to pay over $9K with written apology
WARNING: This article contains graphic imagery and content that some readers may find distressing. Discretion is advised.
SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA: Latira (Tyra) Shonty Hunt, 44, has been ordered to pay the victim more than $9,000 and write an apology letter. The order comes after the mother encouraged her teen daughter to hit a rival player during an Orange County basketball game in Garden Grove on November 7, 2021.
The video of the incident posted by the victim's mother Alice Ham, that went viral in 2021 with more than 428K views, shows Hunt's daughter, who is the daughter of former Chicago Bulls player Corey Benjamin, punching her 15-year-old opponent Lauryn Ham. Before the incident, Hunt can be heard shouting at her daughter, "You need to hit her for that." Following this, the family of the victim confirmed that she suffered a concussion because of the hit. A month later, Hunt was charged with one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and one misdemeanor count of battery. She also faced a maximum sentence of one year in jail if convicted on all counts, as per KTLA.
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Now, an Orange County Superior Court judge via press release granted Hunt misdemeanor diversion in exchange for A written apology to the victim, her parents, and both basketball teams, paying more than $9K in restitution, and completing anger management classes before attending basketball games again. She has been given a time frame of two years and has been instructed to stay away from the victim.
Commenting on this, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said, "Parents have a fundamental responsibility to raise our children to be good human beings who treat everyone with dignity and respect. Youth sports play a crucial role in developing discipline, teamwork and fair play. A grown adult directing a child to use violence against another child on the basketball court is reprehensible. By instructing her own daughter to engage in violence, she is not only responsible for injuring an innocent child as if she punched her with her own fist, but she transformed her own child into someone who is willing to hurt another child.”
If you or anyone you know suspects child abuse, you are urged to immediately call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential and the hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.