Minnesota’s Beasley suspended 12 games
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley has been suspended 12 games stemming from a guilty plea he entered for threats of violence after he pointed a rifle at a pregnant woman, her husband and their teenage daughter in an SUV outside his Plymouth home last fall.
Beasley was ordered to serve 120 days in a workhouse, or home monitoring, and will serve that sentence following the season. Beasley will be eligible to return March 27. He will be allowed to practice with the team, an NBA source confirmed.
“As an organization, we fully support today’s decision by the NBA,” Wolves President Gersson Rosas said in a team release. “As we work together with Malik to advance his development as a player and a person, we look forward to seeing his growth.”
Beasley is in the midst of his best season on the court and is averaging 20.5 points while shooting 41 percent from 3-point range.
As part of his sentence, a felony drug count against Beasley was dropped but Beasley will serve also three years probation which requires no alcohol or illegal drug use. If Beasley completes the probation successfully, the felony count will be reduced to a misdemeanor.
During the sentencing hearing on Feb. 9, Beasley said he “made some very bad mistakes. I regret it to this day … I humbly apologize for my actions.”
Beasley said numerous vehicles came up to his house as part of a Parade of Homes tour that had listed his property in guidebooks distributed weeks before the incident.
“I was worried and in fear for the safety of us and all this caused me to be frustrated in this situation,” Beasley said during the hearing.