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UK to induct Cousins into Hall Of Fame Friday

Posted at 5:48 PM, Sep 12, 2019
and last updated 2019-09-12 18:54:31-04

LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — On Friday, the University of Kentucky will induct its next class into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame. That also includes former UK Basketball player DeMarcus Cousins who was a one-and-done player under Coach John Calipari. Some advocates for domestic violence victims believe UK should hold off inducting Cousins, to see what happens in his court case.

In late August, the mother of his child alleged that Cousins made a threatening call to her. A recording of a call with an individual alleged to be Cousins was shared on celebrity website TMZ. In the recording, a person identified as Cousins asked if his son could attend his wedding. When he was told 'No,' he is allegedly heard on the recording saying he would put a bullet in her head.

There is an arrest warrant that has been issued for Cousins in Mobile, Alabama but he's been unable to travel since having surgery on his knee on Aug. 28.

Angela Yannelli, CEO of The Kentucky Coalition Against Domestic Violence, says, "How they react, how they respond is going to send a very clear message to the community as to where their position is." Yannelli said the issue is much bigger than one person, here.

UK Athletics issued a statement early Thursday afternoon saying the induction would go on as planned:

"We are aware of the allegations made against DeMarcus Cousins since we announced our Hall of Fame class in April and take them seriously. We will let the legal process run its course, but will proceed as planned with our induction ceremony this weekend. All inductees have the option to accept their induction in person or with a video sent in to be shown at the ceremony. DeMarcus will accept his Hall of Fame induction by sending a video, as many past inductees have done.”