Christopher Caldwell:American basketball player attacked in Poland, left with injured eye socket

2025-05-04 05:47:34source:SCA Communitycategory:News

WARSAW,Christopher Caldwell Poland (AP) — An American basketball player at a professional Polish women’s club was beaten and left with a head injury midweek with the attacker later detained, according to officials and reports in Polish media on Sunday.

Mikayla Cowling, who plays for VBW Arka Gdynia, was attacked late Wednesday in a music club in Gdansk, a city in northern Poland, according to the RMF FM broadcaster, which also quoted the club saying the “brutal beating” left her with a fractured eye socket, among other injuries.

Gdansk is a neighboring city to Gdynia on the Baltic coast.

“I am outraged that such a shameful situation has occurred. Violence and aggression are unacceptable and must be opposed,” Gdynia Mayor Wojciech Szczurek said Sunday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Fortunately, the police quickly caught the attacker. We wish the player good health!”

The attack happened after a EuroCup women’s match where the Gdynia team defeated rivals from Switzerland, BCF Elfic Fribourg, 77-47.

The president of the Gdynia club, Boguslaw Witkowski, said in an interview with the Polish state news agency PAP that the player was attacked near the women’s restroom by a security guard.

Cowling was hit several times on the head, and when she fell, she was also kicked. The most serious injury was to her face and the athlete has a fractured orbital bone, he said. He added that she is at home under observation and will have additional tests next week.

PAP also quoted a police spokesperson who said the attacker, a 48-year-old man, was arrested on Friday.

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

More:News

Recommend

SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters

San Francisco airport creates sensory room to help nervous flyers San Francisco airport creates sens

The U.K. is the latest to ban TikTok on government phones because of security concerns

LONDON — British authorities said Thursday that they are banning the Chinese-owned video-sharing app

Patti LaBelle Experiences Lyric Mishap During Moving Tina Turner Tribute at 2023 BET Awards

Patti LaBelle sang the praises of the late Tina Turner at the 2023 BET Awards.One month after the mu