Mom punished for ordering teen daughter’s vicious basketball attack

Restitution must be paid.

Tira Hunt, the mother who ordered her daughter to sucker punch an opponent during a teen girls basketball game has been ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution to the victim, TMZ reports.

Hunt was facing misdemeanor charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and battery over the incident, which occurred in Southern California last November. She could have faced up to a year in prison if convicted, but instead was entered into a diversion program.

In addition to the restitution, Hunt is required to send written apologies to the victim and her parents, must stay away from the victim and attend anger management classes.

“Of course I was in total shock,” the victim’s mother, Alice Ham, told ABC7 last year at the time of the incident. “Just couldn’t believe that could happen to my child.”

Ham’s daughter was concussed by the sucker punch.

“The person in question went down the court and shot a 3-pointer, landed, fell backwards into my daughter,” Ham said. “As they got up and turned and were walking back down to the other side of the court, her mom says to her, ‘You need to hit her for that.’ And the child in question sucker-punched my daughter.”

The girl who threw the punch is the daughter of former NBA player Corey Benjamin. At the time of the incident, Benjamin said that “this is not how I raised my daughter.”

“To the young lady who was punched by my daughter during a youth basketball game, I sincerely apologize to you and I am praying for your complete healing both physically and emotionally,” Benjamin said. “To her family, I deeply apologize and regret that this happened to your daughter as she did not deserve this to happen to her. Finally, I apologize to all of those who have been impacted and hurt by the actions of my daughter as well as those of her mother. I am here for your family and wish only the best for you.”