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Jazz center Jeff Withey's former fiancee has filed a report with police in California accusing him of domestic violence last year, TMZ reported Thursday.
Kennedy Summers, a former Playboy Playmate, reportedly went to the Manhattan Beach Police Department with the allegations Tuesday while Withey and the Jazz were in the Los Angeles area for their first-round playoff series against the Clippers.
"Given the ongoing circumstances, our client now needs to protect herself and come forward about everything so this doesn't happen to her or others in the future," publicist Zack Teperman said in a statement.
A search of Los Angeles County court records showed no charges have been filed against Withey, who practiced with his teammates Thursday in Salt Lake City. The Jazz did not make him available to reporters for comment after practice.
"We are aware of the media reports involving Jeff Withey," team officials said in a prepared statement. "At this point, we are collecting information and will have no further comment until we have a better understanding of the situation."
Withey has made appearances in both of the Jazz's first two playoff games against the Clippers, averaging 2.5 points and 2 rebounds in 18 minutes of action. Jazz coach Quin Snyder did not say whether Withey would suit up for Game 3 of the series.
"At this point, we're researching it," Snyder said when asked about the allegations. "We're looking at what the situation is. It would be irresponsible for me to comment beyond that until we have more information."
Withey's teammates expressed their support Thursday.
"He's been huge for us all year," forward Joe Ingles said. "Obviously it's a personal thing and he and his people will deal with that. But he'll be ready [to play Friday]. He knows what to do. He's been in the league a long time. He's played a lot of basketball. We support him. We're ready to go forward tomorrow."
Withey and Summers broke off their engagement in October of 2016. Summers' representatives said at the time that the split had been caused by jealousies sparked via social media.
"We live in a world where its hard to escape social media," Teperman said then. "And while Kennedy is a huge social media fan, unfortunately some of the negative effects it brings to people while in relationships, which I'm sure some of us have also experienced in some form, caused several serious issues that caused her to end this engagement."
The couple had a public break up in 2014, when Summers apparently logged into Withey's Twitter and Instagram accounts, posted a photo of herself and accused the Jazz center of cheating on her. Withey later went online and denied those allegations.
Twitter: @aaronfalk