New Orleans Pelicans: Jaxson Hayes Conflict Update

The New Orleans Pelicans are going through a lot right now as an organization. On the court, but far more importantly, off of it. Hurricane Ida ravaged the southeast United States and had a heavy impact on the city of New Orleans.

With natural tragedy ravaging the community, this story also hits close to home. Pelicans center Jaxson Hayes has been a fan favorite since being drafted by New Orleans in 2018 out of the University of Texas. His freakish athleticism and undoubtedly charisma made him one of the more fun players to follow on the team. Nothing is fun about this story.

Four weeks ago, the LAPD got called by Hayes’s girlfriend saying – she was scared he (Hayes) would physically harm her. Domestic violence is serious, and such allegations should be damming to one’s character if proven correct. However, the allegation became lost in the shuffle with what happened next.

When being confronted by the police, Hayes pushed an officer, injuring him in the process.  Assaulting a police officer is a severe crime in California that could result in a fine and jail time. hat sparked a skirmish between the cops and Hayes, which resulted in the Pels big man ending up on the ground.

While flailing his arms around and trying to resist, the officers began to use excessive force to detain Hayes. One cop deployed his taser while the intensity level of the confrontation ramped up.

While on the ground, Hayes muttered the phrase “I can’t breathe” as the officers used imposing force. That three-word phrase set the country into a frenzy last year as George Floyd said the same thing during his untimely death due to police brutality.

Naturally, many came to Hayes’s defense, citing the cops used unreasonable force during the arrest. The investigation on whether or not the LAPD used excessive force is still ongoing.

This week it broke that George Gascon, the Los Angeles Direct Attorney, would not charge Hayes with a felony following the incident. The city police union blasted the decision, saying that the refusal of arrest combined with injuring an officer means a charge of such severity surely should have been assessed.

Hayes is not in the clear, legally, yet. There are multiple misdemeanor charges Hayes could still face within the coming weeks. Although there has been no sign of it yet, the NBA could still discipline Hayes for his actions as well.

The New Orleans Pelicans surely want their off-season drama to end and for basketball to start.