Nikola Jokic’s brother Strahinja was arrested after punching a man in the face at a Denver Nuggets game.
He was charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, and appeared in Denver County Court on Tuesday, according to records obtained by the Denver Post.
The 41-year-old was caught on camera at Ball Arena when he allegedly assaulted the man during his brother’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers in April.
Police first learned of the heated altercation through a now-viral TikTok video that showed “known family members of Denver Nuggets player Nikola Jokic arguing with an unidentified fan in the stands,” according to an arrest affidavit for Strahinja.
Strahinja and his brother Nemanja Jokic had a ‘verbal exchange’ with a fan in the stands before the latter was knocked backwards by the force of Strahinja’s punch.
Nikola Jokic’s brother Strahinja was arrested after punching a man at a Nuggets game
Shocking footage showed him punching an unidentified man, who suffered a concussion.
When the man was interviewed by a Denver detective a few days later, he had cuts and bruises around and under his left eye.
He claimed the assault he suffered at the hands of “a big guy with a Mohawk” was unprovoked, and was even diagnosed with a concussion.
According to the affidavit, “he initially did not want to press charges against Strahinja Jokic because he was afraid of retaliation and was concerned for the safety of his family, but changed his mind in early May.”
When contacted by local police, Strahinja said he believed he had done nothing wrong because “I was defending an older man whom I had known for a long time.”
Strahinja will appear in court again for an arraignment hearing on August 21.
It was previously reported that the The NBA was investigatingThe shocking incident, which flooded social media, showed Nikola’s wife Nataljia standing nearby, holding their baby daughter.
This is not the first time Strahinja has been in trouble with police for violent behaviour. He was arrested in 2019 for allegedly strangling and pushing a woman.
The NBA star’s brother was charged with third-degree assault and appeared in a Denver court
The man initially “did not want to press charges… because he was afraid of retaliation”
The Denver Post reported that Strahinja became violent when the woman tried to leave his apartment and that he told her he would strangle her “until she fell asleep.” He also allegedly took her phone when she tried to call 911.
In February 2002, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing telephone service and a felony charge of trespassing, while other charges were dropped.
He was given a deferred sentence and told the charges would be dropped as long as he did not commit another crime by February 3, 2022.
Meanwhile, Nikola raised eyebrows when he gave some very candid statements about his unusual upbringing with his older brother.
He told Sports Illustrated in 2017 that Strahinja “once held my arms and threw knives all over my head” after I refused to climb a tree with him.
“It was crazy,” he added.
