Mychelle Johnson, the wife of NBA player Miles Bridges, posted images of her injuries a day after he had turned himself in to the authorities on a felony domestic violence charge.
Ms Johnson, who has two young children with Mr Bridges, wrote on Instagram this week that she couldn’t “be silent anymore” and that she was “choked until I went to sleep”.
The images she posted show bruises and scratches on her hands, back, legs, and face.
“I’ve allowed someone to destroy my home, abuse me in every way possible and traumatize our kids for life,” she wrote in the caption of her post on Thursday.
Ms Johnson also posted a medical document, dated on Tuesday, which stated that she had been strangled and that she had suffered a concussion as well as a bruised rib.
The document said that Ms Johnson is an “adult victim of physical abuse by male partner”.
Ms Johnson posted the images after Mr Bridges turned himself in to Los Angeles Police. The NBA player was allegedly in a physical argument with a woman on Tuesday, TMZ reported. The woman was reportedly in need of medical care.
While Mr Bridges left the scene before the arrival of law enforcement, he later turned himself in on Wednesday. After being charged with felony domestic violence, he was released on $130,000 bail.
On Thursday, Ms Johnson said that she had a fractured nose and wrist, a torn eardrum, as well as torn neck muscles “from being choked until I went to sleep”.
“I hate that it has come to this but I can’t be silent anymore. I’ve allowed someone to destroy my home, abuse me in every way possible and traumatize our kids for life,” she wrote. “I have nothing to prove to the world, but I won’t allow anyone who could do something so horrible to have no remorse and paint a picture of something I’m not.”
“I won’t allow the people around him to continue to silence me and continue to lie to protect this person. It’s unethical, it’s immoral, it’s truly sick,” she added. “It hurts my heart because I’ve always had hope, and so much love and as scary as this is for me to do it’s time I stand up for myself.”
“I won’t be silent to protect others anymore because I value myself and my kids more than anyone’s ‘image’… a [fractured] nose, wrist, torn eardrum, torn muscles in my neck from being choked until I went to sleep and a severe concussion,” she wrote. “I don’t need sympathy, I just don’t want this happening to anyone else, I just want this person to get help, my kids deserve better.”
“That’s all I want. It hurts, everything hurts, this situation hurts, most importantly I’m scared and hurting for my kids who were witness to everything,” she added.
Ms Johnson and Mr Bridges started dating in 2016. He was the 12th pick in the 2018 NBA draft and has played four seasons for the Charlotte Hornets. He became a free agent at 6pm on Thursday as the NBA negotiating period started.
NBA franchises can carry on negotiating with free agents on Friday, but they can’t sign a player until 12.01pm ET on 6 July. Mr Bridges’ future in the league remains uncertain.
The Charlotte Hornets announced on Wednesday that they had made a qualifying offer to Mr Bridges.
On Tuesday, Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak told the press: “As an organization, we love Miles.”
“We are going to bring him back. He has been great for the franchise and I believe, with his work ethic, he’s only going to get better,” Mr Kupchak added.
The $8m offer means that Mr Bridges is a restricted free agent – the Hornets will be allowed to match any other offer Mr Bridges receives from elsewhere.
The Independent has attempted to reach Mr Bridges and the Charlotte Hornets for comment.
