Former WNBA star Chamique Holdsclaw is in custody after being accused of shooting into a woman’s car after using a bat to break its windows.
Atlanta police said the incident happened Tuesday, Nov. 13 after the Olympic gold medalist followed 29-year-old Jennifer Lacy to her car. Lacy plays for the Tulsa Shock.
Lacy, 29, who described herself as Holdsclaw’s former girlfriend, told police she was working out at a church on Ponce de Leon Avenue on Nov. 13 when Holdsclaw approached her and said she wanted to put some items in Lacy’s car.
According to an incident report obtained by Channel 2 Action News, as Lacy drove from the church she smelled gasoline inside her vehicle and noticed that Holdsclaw was following her.
Lacy said she drove to a friend’s house on Hemphill Avenue, at which time Holdsclaw got out of her car with a baseball bat and began smashing the windows in Lacy’s Range Rover, the report said.
After breaking the driver’s side window, a rear passenger’s window and the rear window, Holdsclaw produced a handgun, fired inside the SUV and fled the scene, the report said.
Police said they later recovered a 9mm shell casing at the scene. Lacy was not injured, police said.
Lacy identified the 35-year-old Holdsclaw, one of the biggest stars in women’s college basketball history during her career at Tennessee.They were teammates with the Atlanta Dream in 2009.
Holdsclaw was taken into custody Nov. 15 and placed in the Fulton County Jail. Her bond was set at $10,000 on one charge each of aggravated assault, second-degree criminal damage and reckless conduct.
A number for Holdsclaw listed in the police report went to voicemail, and it was unknown whether she had an attorney.
Holdsclaw played 12 seasons in the WNBA, including one year with the Atlanta Dream, in 2009. Lacy plays for the Tulsa Shock of the WNBA and played for the Dream in 2008 and 2009.
Holdsclaw was the No. 1 selection in the 1999 draft after a four-year career at Tennessee, where she led the Lady Vols to three consecutive national championships. She last played for the San Antonio Silver Stars, in 2010.
Lacy issued a statement through the Shock.
“I want to thank my family, friends, fans and Shock family for their concern during this difficult time,” Lacy said. “I have never felt more love from my fans in supporting me.”
In September, Holdsclaw returned to her alma mater to discuss her fight with clinical depression, which included a suicide attempt during her pro career.
Holdsclaw recounted how she attempted suicide in 2006 as a member of the Los Angeles Sparks by overdosing on the medication she was taking for clinical depression. She also wouldn’t leave her Washington home for a few days in 2004, two years after the death of the grandmother who raised her.
She discussed these situations in a book, Breaking Through: Beating The Odds Shot After Shot, that came out earlier this year.
Holdsclaw led Tennessee to three consecutive national championships from 1996-98 before beginning a pro career that included six WNBA All-Star selections. She also played on the U.S. Olympic team that won the gold medal in the 2000 Games. Holdsclaw had 3,025 career points at Tennessee and remains the Southeastern Conference’s career scoring leader
Holdsclaw currently serves as a spokeswoman for Active Minds, an organization “dedicated to empowering students to speak openly about mental health in order to educate others and increase help seeking,” according to the group’s website.
