(REUTERS) – Charlotte Hornets forward Jeff Taylor was suspended 24 games without pay by the NBA on Wednesday after pleading guilty last month to misdemeanor domestic violence assault and malicious destruction of hotel property.Taylor had been on paid leave since the start of the National Basketball Association season, missing 11 games, and he will have to sit out the next 13 games.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the 25-year-old Taylor, in his third season in the league, will suffer a financial penalty equal to 24 games.
“This suspension is necessary to protect the interests of the NBA and the public’s confidence in it,” Silver said in a statement. “Mr. Taylor’s conduct violates applicable law and, in my opinion, does not conform to standards of morality and is prejudicial and detrimental to the NBA.”
During an argument at an East Lansing, Michigan, hotel room in September, Taylor pushed a woman into the hallway, where she fell to the ground and slammed her head on a door, the player said.
The woman had marks on her upper arm and a bump on her head but declined medical treatment, police said, adding that there was also damage to a wall near the hotel room.
Taylor, who pleaded guilty last month, was sentenced to 18 months of probation. As part of his probation, he must complete 26 weeks in a domestic violence intervention program.
A second-round pick by Charlotte in the 2012 NBA Draft, Taylor has averaged 6.6 points a game during his two seasons with the Hornets.

(By Steve Ginsburg)