Wake Forest University basketball player Tony Woods apologized yesterday in court for the actions that led him to plead guilty to assaulting his girlfriend on Labor Day, fracturing her spine.
“I would like to make it known that I am deeply sorry and I regret what happened,” he said in Forsyth District Court. “I responded poorly to the situation.”
Woods, 20, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault on a female. As part of the plea agreement, Chief District Judge William Reingold dismissed two misdemeanor charges, assault inflicting serious injury and assault in the presence of a child.
Woods was given a suspended 60-day jail sentence and was ordered him to complete an anger-management program. Woods also has to perform 100 hours of community service.
He is a junior at Wake Forest and started nine games at center last season, averaging 4.6 points and 3.2 rebounds. He is a scholarship player from Rome, Ga. Wake Forest University suspended Woods indefinitely from the basketball team after his arrest.
No decision has been made on whether he will return, Walt Corbean, director of basketball operations at Wake Forest, said in court yesterday.
“We’re taking a wait-and-see approach,” he said.
Police said that Woods kicked Courtney Lorel Barbour and pushed her down on Labor Day, causing a lumber spine fracture, at the apartment they shared at 222 Bethabara Hills Court.
Woods and Barbour were in the bedroom with their 8-month-old son when they started arguing, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Martin said. The mothers of Barbour and Woods were both in the living room at the time.
Woods picked up his son and began to leave. Barbour tried to get the child back but Woods turned around and kicked her and pushed her away, Martin said.
Barbour’s mother told authorities that Woods had drawn back his fist as if to hit her again but didn’t, Martin said.
Barbour told authorities that she may have gotten injured on Sept. 2 when she fell out of a bed in a dormitory room at Wake Forest University, where she was a junior on an academic scholarship. Martin said Barbour had been visiting friends at the school and didn’t seek treatment until after the Labor Day incident.
Barbour told authorities that she was embarrassed about what happened, Martin said. Since the incident, she has withdrawn from Wake Forest and is raising her son with her parents at their home near Washington D.C.
Reingold asked Martin in court whether it would be fair to say that Barbour was a reluctant witness, and Martin said it was. After the hearing, Martin said Barbour didn’t want Woods punished but wanted him to seek counseling and anger-management treatment.
Chris Clifton, Woods’ attorney, said Woods knows that he acted inappropriately, but that what happened was the result of a young couple not knowing how to deal with their emotions.
“I’m sure if he could rewind that 30 seconds back, he would,” Clifton said in court.
Woods’ family, including his mother, attended the hearing. His mother, Jackie Daniel, told Reingold that her son was taught never to hit a woman and that this will never happen again.
Reingold told Woods that he’s still young enough to learn from his mistakes.
“You’re a baby,” he said. “You have a man’s body but you’re a kid.”
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