Ex-girlfriend sues Haddadi

claiming that an altercation in his Memphis apartment last year left her with scars, post-traumatic stress and bills for medical and psychological treatment.

Haddadi, 26, was charged with misdemeanor domestic assault following the incident on Thanksgiving last year in his 12th-floor apartment.

He has pleaded not guilty in the case, which is still pending in court in Memphis.  He is free after posting a $1,000 bond.  If found guilty, Haddadi could face up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500

He has been playing in Iran while the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its players have battled over a new labor agreement.  The players and owners reached a tentative agreement last week under which the truncated season would resume December 25.  Haddadi will have to decide by then whether he will return to the United States to play—and to face both the criminal charges against him for beating his girlfriend and the new civil suit.

The civil suit filed by Golnaz Karbalaeinematmoeeney, also known as Golnaz ‘Asal’ Moeeny, asks for $250,000 in damages.

Moeeny, 22, a college student in San Jose, California, also is from Iran and was friends with Haddadi, 26, whom she had met at a basketball game and began dating after his divorce last year, her attorney, Jeff Rosenblum, told the Memphis Commercial-Appeal.

The incident at the apartment occurred after she and a girlfriend from California had traveled to Memphis to see Haddadi.

Police said Moeeny told them Haddadi became upset because she had been talking to another man and began choking her and shoved her against a wall.

She was intoxicated, bleeding from her head and hand and had a black eye and bruising around her neck, according to an affidavit.

Haddadi, whom police said had scratches on his face and a wound on his hand, said the dispute arose when Moeeny fell out of bed, became angry and threw a soap dispenser at him that he deflected back into her head.

He said she threw other items at him, locked herself in the bathroom and that he kicked the door in for fear she might be hurting herself with a knife.

Moeeny said in the lawsuit that she retreated to the bathroom because she feared for her life, but that he broke in and choked her in a fit of rage.

The Grizzlies put Haddadi under contract in August 2008.  The contract expired at the end of the season last summer, but the Grizzlies indicated they wanted him back.  He is now a “restricted free agent,” meaning he will be paid $2 million this season even if he doesn’t play.  He has the right to negotiate with other teams, but the Grizzlies have the right to keep him by matching any offer from another team.