July 26, 2023
Las Vegas Aces’ Riquna Williams faces domestic violence charges
By Aya Abdeen
Aces guard cannot participate in team activities
As first reported by Katelyn Newberg from the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Las Vegas Aces guard Riquna Williams was arrested on Wednesday morning on domestic violence charges against her wife.
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Williams has been charged with nine counts by the Clark County Detention Center. These charges include three felony counts of strangulation, one count of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of coercion, and four counts of misdemeanor battery.
Following Williams’ arrest on domestic violence charges, both the league and team’s options were limited by the league’s collective bargaining agreement. The league had the option of placing Williams on administrative leave, while the player and team could elect to request that Williams then be allowed to participate in non-game team activities. A source familiar with the league’s actions tells The Next that because Williams wasn’t close to returning to play, the administrative leave decision didn’t have to be made. The Aces precluded Williams from team activities themselves.
“The Las Vegas Aces were made aware of domestic violence charges against a member of our team, Riquna Williams,” the team said in a statement. “As an organization, we condemn domestic violence of any kind. At this time, Riquna Williams will be precluded from participating in team activities. Our thoughts are with the parties involved in this situation. We are currently gathering more information, and as such we will not have any further comments at this time.”
The WNBPA released a statement regarding Williams as well.
“We have been advised of the situation involving one of our members in Las Vegas,” the WNBPA said. “We are monitoring the situation and have no further comment at this time.”
“We are aware of the alleged incident and are in the process of gathering more information,” the WNBA told the Associated Press Wednesday.
In 2019, the WNBA suspended Williams, a member of the Los Angeles Sparks at the time, for 10 games without pay due to her arrest on domestic violence charges.
A judge ruled Wednesday that Williams cannot have contact with her alleged victim ahead of her next court appearance on Aug. 2.
Jacob Mox and Howard Megdal contributed reporting to this story.
Written by Aya Abdeen
Aya Abdeen is a student in sports journalism at Arizona State University and has been a contributing writer for The Next since December 2022. She is also a sports reporter for the Sun Devils’ women’s basketball team for The State Press. Her work has also appeared on AZPreps365.
