Just weeks after ending their season, this 26-year-old player and fellow teammate to Mike Fisher was arrested in the early evening and charged with domestic violence.
#BREAKING: Predators player, Austin Watson, arrested for domestic assault in Franklin last weekend. pic.twitter.com/odvQp17whc
— NewsChannel 5 (@NC5) June 20, 2018
Austin Watson, who was part of a domestic violence public awareness campaign last year was arrested at 7:20 p.m. on Saturday, June 16th, 2018 by an officer with the Franklin Police Department.
In 2017, Watson, Mike Fisher, and two other players were part of an awareness campaign to end domestic violence, called “Unsilence the Violence.”
Domestic violence is never okay. The fact that Austin Watson last year had been part of a PSA to PREVENT violence against women makes it so much worse.
— A.J. Hilton (@AJHilton_News) June 20, 2018
According to The Tennessean, the police arrest affidavit states that an officer was flagged down by a witness for a possible domestic violence incident at a local Shell station. The responding officer noticed a passenger who was attempting to “back away from being shoved” and said “stop” while trying to cover her face.
.@emwest22 has more details on Austin Watson's arrest. pic.twitter.com/tB6RZOHKDR
— Adam Vingan (@AdamVingan) June 20, 2018
Watson was arrested and free on $4,500 bond as of early Wednesday (June 20th). His next court appearance is scheduled for June 28th to face the charge – and if convicted, could face 11 months, 29 days in jail with a possible $2,500 fine. The charge is a misdemeanor.
The Nashville Predators issued a statement on the teammate’s arrest saying:
“We are aware of the incident involving Austin Watson on Saturday night. We are still gathering facts and it is not appropriate for us to comment further at this time.”
“This is a matter that we are taking very seriously and will cooperate fully with the investigation by law enforcement. The Nashville Predators have and will continue to stand side by side with AMEND in the fight to end violence against women.”
.@PredsNHL on Austin Watson arrest: pic.twitter.com/EScaxJgfAW
— Rebecca Cardenas Thompson (@RebeccaWSMV) June 20, 2018
The NHL deputy commissioner also made note that the league is aware of the arrest and says that when the next season opens they will deal with it as the rules state, adding “our focus currently is on the wellbeing and safety of Austin’s girlfriend, their child, and Austin himself.”
Watch the video news segment of the arrest below and let us know what you think in the comments.