Mom who told daughter to sucker punch opponent during basketball game ordered to take anger management

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. - The mother of a teenage girl who was caught on video sucker punching an opponent during a basketball game in Garden Grove last November has been ordered to undergo anger management in addition to paying the victim, the Orange County District Attorney's office announced Wednesday.

Tina Hunt, whose legal has is Latira Shonty Hunt, 44, of La Puente, was charged back in December 2021 with misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and battery for allegedly encouraging her daughter from the stands to hit another girl. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer announced Wednesday that Hunt will have to pay the victim more than $9,000 in addition to several other requirements.

Video of the encounter went viral last winter. In it, the girl, the daughter of former Chicago Bulls player Corey Benjamin is seen punching her opponent, 15-year-old Lauryn Ham in the neck, while the two teams were in transition. Hunt can be heard in the video egging her daughter on, saying, "you need to hit her for that." The family said Ham suffered a concussion because of the hit.

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An Orange County Superior Court judge ordered Wednesday that Hunt will be required to pay Ham's family more than $9,000, write written apologies to Ham, her parents and both basketball clubs, and undergo anger management before she'll be allowed to attend games again.

"Parents have a fundamental responsibility to raise our children to be good human beings who treat everyone with dignity and respect," Spitzer. "Youth sports play a crucial role in developing discipline, teamwork and fair play. A grown adult directing a child to use violence against another child on the basketball court is reprehensible."

Hunt has also been ordered to stay away from the victim as part of the agreement.

Hunt's attorney, Brett Greenfield, said in a statement that the resolution of the case "marks a resounding victory for both Ms. Hunt and her daughter who from the inception of this incident took accountability for their actions and did everything in their power to rectify this situation."

Greenfield said his client and her daughter "can now begin to heal. Unfortunately, this incident opened the social media door for many individuals to make direct statements to Ms. Hunt and her minor daughters. These statements were infected with racism, bigotry, threats, humiliation, bullying and more." 

He added Hunt has "been the source of national news exposure, ridicule, racist threats and rants, and for several months was forced to hide in a hotel with her children due to the nature of the violent threats. Defendant was forced to pull her juvenile daughter out of school for months, and only now is her life starting to become normal again."

City News Service contributed to this report.