Four-time WNBA All-Star Arike Ogunbowale was arrested early Thursday morning outside a nightclub in Miami, Florida, after police said she punched a man.
Ogunbowale, 29, was charged with battery — a misdemeanor — and released after posting $1,000 bond, according to Miami-Dade court records. Ogunbowale was arrested at 4:22 a.m., hours after her team, Mist BC, won the Unrivaled championship in Miami.
Advertisement
The Dallas Wings, the team Ogunbowale has played for since she was drafted fifth overall in 2019 by Notre Dame, have not released any details about her arrest.
“The Wings are aware of an incident involving Arike Ogunbowale and are in the process of gathering more information,” the Wings said in a statement provided to USA Today Sports. “Further comments will be provided once we have more details.”
According to the arrest report, a copy of which was obtained by USA Today Sports, the responding officer was working extra duty at E11EVAN, a nightclub in Miami. Club security personnel flagged down the officer and he got out of his vehicle to investigate.
The victim told police he was trying to escort Ogunbowale out of the club “due to an unrelated altercation” and she punched him “in the face with a closed fist, causing him to fall to the ground,” according to the police report. It is unclear from the police report whether the victim worked for club security.
Advertisement
After the responding officer reviewed security camera footage and confirmed the victim’s statements, Ogunbowale was taken into custody without incident.
Breanna Stewart, co-founder of Unrivaled, a professional 3-on-3 league based in Miami, said: About Arike: “I have no comment on this at this time. I’m just very happy that Arike is safe and healthy and everything else will have to be taken care of with Unrivaled.”
Ogunbowale led Notre Dame to a national championship in 2018 and has since made a name for herself as an elite scorer in the WNBA. She finished in the top 10 in MVP voting three times, was named All-Star Game MVP twice, was the WNBA scoring champion in 2020 and led the league in steals in 2024. During her seven-year career with the Dallas Wings, she averaged 19.9 points, 4.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.
This article was originally published on USA TODAY: WNBA star Arike Ogunbowale arrested in Miami and charged with battery
