Hornets’ Miles Bridges denied entry into Canada, missed loss to Raptors due to 'personal reasons'
Miles Bridges pleaded no contest to a felony domestic violence charge last year, and is due in court next month on a separate incident
Miles Bridges was not with the Charlotte Hornets at Scotiabank Arena on Monday night.
Bridges was reportedly denied entry into Canada on Sunday night, which forced him to miss the Hornets' game against the Toronto Raptors. The Hornets said Bridges missed the game due to "personal reasons."
In a since-deleted tweet, Bridges wrote that he "got denied in the 6." The 6 is a nickname for Toronto because of its six phone area codes and often used by the rapper and Toronto native, Drake.
UPDATE: Miles Bridges & Nathan Mensah - both NWT - Personal Reasons - are out tonight. https://t.co/Zg3kLjp3rR
— Charlotte Hornets PR (@HornetsPR) December 18, 2023
Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer reported that the team was attempting to resolve the matter so Bridges can suit up. That, however, did not happen. The team ruled him out officially about an hour before the game tipped.
"The only thing I'm going to say is neither Miles nor [rookie center Nathan Mensah from Ghana] will be here with us tonight," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said, via ESPN. "That's all I'm going to say."
At this time, no reason has been officially given for why Bridge was denied. It's assumed that Bridges was denied entry to the country because Canada can exclude or deny entry to anyone with a criminal record. In these situations, it's up to Canada's discretion who is and isn't admitted. Those with a criminal record may file a waiver of exclusion and if cleared must pay a fee.
Bridges pleaded no contest to felony domestic violence charge of injuring a child's parent on Nov. 3, 2022. He was sentenced to three years probation with no jail time. Bridges has a Feb. 20 court case for an alleged violation of a domestic violence court order.
The NBA suspended the Hornets forward 30 games as a result of the incident.
After missing a year and half of basketball, Bridges returned to play Nov. 17. He sat out the entire 2022-2023 season and his last game prior to this season was April 10, 2022.
Bridges is averaging 19.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in 14 games this year.
The Raptors rolled to a 114-99 win on Monday night in Toronto, and held Charlotte scoreless for the final two minutes to secure the 15-point victory. Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and Scottie Barnes finished with 22 points and 17 rebounds.
Terry Rozier led the Hornets with 22 points and seven assists, and P.J. Washington added 15 points. The Hornets are now just 7-18 on the season, and have lost their last five games. It's unclear when Bridges will rejoin the team, though they are set to take on the Indiana Pacers next on Wednesday in Indianapolis. The Hornets will not play in Toronto again until March.
