UCLA basketball player Mac Etienne was assigned to complete a diversion programΒ after receiving a misdemeanor assault charge in connection with a spitting incident at McKale Center in February.
University of ArizonaΒ police cited Etienne with a chargeΒ of "assault-touch with intent to provoke" after he was both caught on video and by a UAPD officer as spitting at the crowd he walked off the court following UAβs 76-66 win over UCLA at McKale Center on Feb. 3.
Etienne pleaded not guilty to the charge on March 31 in Pima County Justice Court and was assigned a case management conference for Friday. The case management conference was later vacated when Etienne agreed to complete the diversion program.
While the court calendar states Etienne has until Nov. 21 to complete the program, his attorney, Phoenix-based Aaron Reed, said he faces some deadlines in July and will complete the program before basketball season. Reed declined to state specifics of the diversion program Etienne was asked to complete.
Etienne, who reclassified to play part of the 2020-21 season as a freshman, sat out this season as a sophomore afterΒ tearing an ACL in November. On Feb. 3, he sat on the Bruinsβ bench at McKale Center wearing a T-shirt and pants.
