Greg Oden arrested for allegedly punching ex-girlfriend

Former Miami Heat center Greg Oden was arrested early Thursday morning in an Indianapolis suburb on suspicion of punching his ex-girlfriend, police said.

Police in Lawrence, Ind., were called to the home of one of Oden’s relatives around 3:30 a.m. Thursday for a reported disturbance, according to a police report.

Inside, they found a woman with a bloodied and swollen face sitting on the sofa. There was blood on the sofa and the floor, the report said. A witness standing next to her was screaming and crying, the report said, and said, “He punched her in the face.”

The woman went to an upstairs bedroom, holding her face and crying, but refused medical treatment, police said. The witness, her best friend, followed, according to the report, and told her, “There isn’t that much love in the world. You need to tell that he punched you in the face.”

Oden, who told officers that he and the woman had dated for two years but recently broke up, claimed that “things got out of control” and that when he began to chase the victim, his relative and the friend tried to hold him back. When he swung his arms to move them out of the way, he told them, he punched the woman in the face.

“I was wrong and I know what has to happen,” Oden reportedly told police.

According to the police report, the relative said “she was awakened by Gregory Oden and the victim arguing. The relative stated every time the two visit and go out, there is an argument to follow. “

In January, Oden made his first appearance on the court in more than four years. Signed by the Portland Trail Blazers as a No. 1 NBA draft pick, he was later sidelined by knee injuries. He is currently a free agent.

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