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Monday, January 8, 2001
Hardaway wants to mend relationship with daughter
Associated Press
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PHOENIX -- Phoenix Suns star Penny Hardaway said there is a
"good possibility" a misdemeanor intimidation charge against him
will be dropped.
"I hope they will," Hardaway said Sunday night after he made
his first NBA appearance of the season.
He said the matter has been discussed between his lawyers and
prosecutors in Paradise Valley, the affluent Phoenix suburb where
he lives.
In a complaint filed Nov. 20, Latarsha McCray, the mother of
Hardaway's 8-year-old daughter, said she and Hardaway had been
arguing two nights earlier and she left his house to sleep in a
vehicle outside. She said he came outside and yelled at her while
carrying a handgun.
She did not accuse him of pointing the weapon at her.
When the Paradise Valley town attorney's office decided Dec. 14
to charge him with intimidation, Hardaway insisted he would be
cleared when all the facts were known.
"I've always said from the beginning that I was innocent and I
had no intentions of intimidating anybody with a weapon at all,"
Hardaway said Sunday night. "It was a misunderstanding."
Hardaway said McCray had been inaccurately characterized in news
stories as his girlfriend. He said the two have not had a
relationship for eight years.
The incident stemmed from his desire to develop a relationship
with his daughter, he said.
"I haven't had a relationship with her over the last eight
years and it's time to build one," Hardaway said.
McCray had flown from her home in Memphis to meet with Hardaway
to discuss their daughter.
"My daughter is the issue. It's not about myself and not her
mom," Hardaway said. "It's just about getting my relationship
back with her and going from there."
He said dropping the charge "a huge relief. Then I can just
think about basketball."
Hardaway had not played for the Suns until Sunday while
recovering from knee surgery.
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