Former Louisville and WNBA player Shoni Schimmel has been charged with assault by strangulation of an intimate dating partner and assault resulting in substantial bodily injury, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon said Friday.
According to the federal indictment unsealed Friday, the alleged assault occurred on June 13, 2021, on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Schimmel was initially arrested on June 14, 2021, on suspicion of multiple charges, including felony assault and criminal mischief, the Umatilla County sheriff's office said at the time.
The case was then investigated by the Umatilla Tribal Police Department and FBI, which has federal law enforcement responsibility on nearly 200 Indian reservations in the United States.
Federal authorities arrested Schimmel on Friday, and she appeared in federal court later that day, at which time she pleaded not guilty. She was released pending a two-day jury trial scheduled to begin on June 14, 2022.
If convicted, Schimmel faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison, three years' supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.
Schimmel, 29, grew up on the Umatilla Reservation in Oregon and was featured in the 2011 documentary "Off the Rez," which is about her family and basketball career.
As a junior in 2013, Schimmel helped Louisville upset No. 1 seed and defending champion Baylor in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament en route to the national championship game, where the Cardinals fell to UConn.
Schimmel was the eighth pick of the 2014 WNBA draft by the Atlanta Dream and was named All-Star Game MVP during her rookie year. She was also an All-Star selection in her second season with the Dream, in 2015.
In 2016, Schimmel was traded to the New York Liberty and played 17 games with them before sustaining a season-ending concussion.
Schimmel sat out the 2017 WNBA season for personal reasons, then rejoined the Liberty in 2018. She was waived in training camp and then was signed by the Las Vegas Aces, playing two games before being released.