Former Chicago Bulls player Ben Gordon violated an order of protection already in place when he was arrested on charges of punching his 10-year-old son in the face at LaGuardia Airport , the Daily News has learned.
Gordon, 39, was charged with violating his son’s order of protection as well as assault and resisting arrest for the ugly clash at LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B, law enforcement sources said.
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Ben Gordon appears in Manhattan Criminal Court on April 9, 2018. (Alec Tabak/for New York Daily News)
The 6-foot-3 former shooting guard and his son were at gate 19 and about to hop on an American Airlines flight to Chicago when he allegedly punched his child with a closed fist in front of a crowd of people about 7:45 p.m. Monday.
At least six shocked witnesses called 911 reporting the assault, sources said.
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When police arrived, Gordon, dressed in a pink jogging suit, locked his arms and refused to be handcuffed. Two Port Authority Police Officers suffered minor injuries taking the NBA player into custody.
Gordon’s arraignment in Queens Criminal Court was pending Tuesday.
Ben Gordon leaves after appearing in Manhattan Criminal Court on March 12, 2018. (Alec Tabak/for New York Daily News)
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The child, escorted by an aunt who was also at the gate, was transported to Long Island Jewish Hospital to be treated.
The incident wasn’t the first run-in with the law for Gordon, who was raised in Mount Vernon, N.Y. but currently lives in Chicago.
In November 2017, police in Harlem stopped him for driving with fake Florida license plates on his Mercedes G-Class SUV.
A Manhattan judge ordered he complete 10 days of community service for the case to be dismissed after six months.
Orlando Magic’s Ben Gordon, right, talks with referee on Jan. 31, 2015. (John Raoux/AP)
It was the third time that year he had a brush with law enforcement. A judge ordered him to undergo psychiatric treatment after a woman called police when he locked the two of them inside his Mount Vernon business.
Gordon came clean about his bouts of depression in an essay for the Players’ Tribune, where he wrote “There was a point in time when I thought about killing myself every single day for about six weeks.”
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With Emma Seiwell