DOCUMENT: Crime

Jason Kidd: "Wife Abused Me"

NBA star seeks divorce, claims to be victim of 'extreme cruelty'

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Jason Kidd: "Wife Abused Me"

JANUARY 10--Basketball star Jason Kidd, who was once arrested for domestic abuse, claims that his wife has turned the tables on him, forcing the New Jersey Net yesterday to file for divorce.

The 33-year point guard alleges that wife Joumana has become "increasingly controlling and manipulative" over the past few years and has kick, hit, and punched him. According to the athlete's divorce petition, a copy of which you'll find here, Joumana's "extreme cruelty" also included throwing household objects at her husband. Kidd also alleges that she tried to monitor his whereabouts by placing tracking devices on his cars and stealing his cell phone from his locker.

The complaint was filed in Bergen County Superior Court and will likely trigger a counterclaim by Joumana, according to Raoul Lionel Felder, one of her lawyers.

In January 2001, the 6' 4" Kidd was arrested in Arizona for punching Joumana in the mouth during an argument apparently triggered by Kidd's consumption of a french fry from his young son's plate, according to a police report. Kidd later copped a plea and was ordered to attend anger management classes.

In a 911 call to Paradise Valley police (which can be found here) Joumana told an operator that her husband, who then played for the Phoenix Suns, had a "bad history" of abusing her. "I told him that this would be the last time," Joumana claimed, "and he did, he popped me right in the mouth." (6 pages)