Last Friday, the Sacramento Kings announced Richaun Holmes would be away from the team for the remainder of the season due to “personal reasons,” with Holmes thanking fans for their support during “difficult times.”
There were not details given and few felt the need to pry given the potential sensitivity of the situation, but on Wednesday word emerged from Robin Epley of the Sacramento Bee that Holmes’ absence from the team was due to an ongoing legal battle with his ex-wife over custody of their son, in which Allexis Holmes accuses Richaun of domestic violence and physical abuse of their 6-year-old son earlier this year.
Allexis Holmes, who has been divorced from her husband since September 2019, has accused Richaun Holmes of domestic violence and of physically abusing their son. Allexis Holmes accused her former partner of “taking out his frustration” on their son and causing him to bleed from a blow to the head during a visitation on Feb. 6, according to court documents.
Richaun Holmes will appear in court later this month and is currently on a restraining order from his son due to the alleged violence. His attorney released a statement to Epley denying the allegations and calling them “baseless claims.”
“We expect the other side to continue to manufacture claims and present misleading information of all types,” Moder said. “But Richaun will continue to focus on ensuring he can spend the most time with his son and supporting him in every way possible.”
The legal process will have to play out but there are certainly questions raised about how the Kings have handled this, particularly calling it “personal reasons” and releasing the statement they did from Holmes given the severity of the accusations.