:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62683448/usa_today_10338409.0.jpg)
Boston Celtics second-year guard Jabari Bird remains away from the team following an alleged domestic violence situation during the offseason. CelticsBlog’s Chris Grenham spoke to the Suffolk County (Massachusetts) District Attorney’s Office and confirmed that Bird is scheduled for his next court appearance on December 18th:
Per the Suffolk County DA's office:
— Chris Grenham (@chrisgrenham) December 14, 2018
Jabari Bird's next court appearance is still scheduled for December 18th. An attorney can ask to postpone last minute, but there has been "no suggestion yet that's in the cards."
CelticsBlog’s Keith Smith followed up with the NBA as to where things stand with their investigation of Bird:
When asked where the NBA is at with process of investigating Jabari Bird, a league source told me: "Jabari Bird has an upcoming court appearance later this month that we are aware of. We are continuing to let the legal process play out, while continuing our process."
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) December 14, 2018
Bird is not currently suspended by either the Celtics or the NBA. He remains on the active roster. Bird has been inactive for each game this season due to “personal reasons”, as he goes through the legal process.
Bird was previously reported to be under the supervision of Mechalle Brown, the mother of Celtics and University of California teammate Jaylen Brown, as well as his former high school coach.
At this point, it is unknown if the NBA will suspend Bird. The NBA also has the option to void Bird’s contract. The second option was introduced in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NBA and the NBA Players Association. To this point, voiding a contract has not been done by the NBA under the new domestic violence policy.
With a court date scheduled for next week, perhaps we will get further updates from either the NBA or the Boston Celtics on where things stand. Stay tuned to CelticsBlog for continuing coverage.