Paris Gaines, a forward for the University of Memphis women's basketball team, faces three counts of aggravated assault after an alleged altercation involving a gun threat. The incident occurred early Monday outside an off-campus apartment complex near the university. Gaines has been suspended indefinitely from the team pending an investigation.
Paris Gaines, a junior forward who transferred from Georgia Southern University, was arrested early Monday morning following an incident at Tiger Estate Cove, an off-campus housing complex near the University of Memphis campus in Memphis, Tennessee.
According to the police affidavit, the victim reported that Gaines assaulted her and threatened to shoot up her apartment while brandishing a gun. Officers noted that Gaines admitted to possessing a firearm but denied making any threats. The victim identified Gaines in a photo lineup as the individual responsible.
Gaines had been an active member of the Tigers' rotation, averaging 5.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game this season. Just the day before her arrest, on Sunday, she contributed nine points, six rebounds, and two steals in the team's 67-56 loss to the University of Texas at San Antonio Trailblazers in San Antonio.
The University of Memphis issued a statement confirming awareness of the situation: "We are aware of the situation and, due to the ongoing investigation, cannot provide further comment at this time. Effective immediately, Paris has been suspended indefinitely from the women’s basketball program."
Campus reaction has been one of disappointment among students, who expressed concerns about the impact on the university's reputation. Student Brandon Melgar said, "It gives us such a bad reputation to have somebody like such a leader do such a thing." Bennett Netscha added, "I think the university does a really good job of, like, creating, like, a sense of inclusivity among all of its students and the fact that, like you was saying, like a leader, like the kind of the community, the basketball team did that, I just find that pretty crazy. And it does kind of give us a bad reputation."
AJ Cox offered a more hopeful perspective: "I'm pretty astonished because I that's very, like unexpected. I hope everything is good and and everyone gets the help they need, because this is a traumatizing experience. But we always, you know, like they said, we do get a bad reputation. So I just hope, it's, everything going forward is just in a good light of Memphis."
