Sources: Miles Bridges denied access to Canada

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges was denied entrance to Canada due to his past legal problems, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, and missed Monday night’s 114-99 loss to the Toronto Raptors.

Bridges, who pleaded no contest to a felony charge of injuring a child’s parent, was denied access to the country Sunday. The Hornets ruled him out around an hour before tipoff, saying he was “not with the team.”

Hornets coach Steve Clifford would not comment on the reason for Bridges’ absence when he spoke to reporters pregame.

“The only thing I’m going to say is neither Miles nor (rookie center Nathan Mensah from Ghana) will be here with us tonight,” Clifford said. “That’s all I’m going to say.”

Bridges is currently serving three years of probation after pleading no contest in exchange for no jail time in the June 2022 domestic violence case involving the mother of his two children, who accused Bridges of assaulting her in front of the children. He must adhere to a 10-year criminal protection order for the woman, weekly narcotics and marijuana testing, and restitution, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Bridges most recently turned himself in on Oct. 13 after an arrest warrant was issued for an alleged protection order violation.

The warrant had originally been issued on Jan. 2 but had not been served until October, just before the NBA season. Per court documents, Bridges “unlawfully” and “knowingly” violated the protection order and “continually contacted the victim.”

That case is still pending.

Bridges was suspended by the NBA for the first 10 games of the season after sitting out all of last season. He is averaging 19.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game since his return from suspension in 12 starts.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.