A one-game suspension from the NBA will not be all for Jaxson Hayes over Mascotgate.
The person inside the costume of the Washington Wizards’ mascot G-Wiz is planning to sue the Los Angeles Lakers center Hayes over their incident during a game on Jan. 30, TMZ Sports reported on Tuesday. Notably, the victim has reportedly hired attorney Waukeen McCoy to represent him.
McCoy is the same attorney who represented Sofia Jamora, Hayes’ ex-girlfriend, in her domestic violence lawsuit against the Lakers center. In a statement, McCoy said that the person inside the mascot outfit was “injured” when Hayes shoved him to the ground and added that “legal action is anticipated.”
You can read TMZ Sports’ full report on the situation here.
The incident with the mascot occurred during pregame introductions before the Lakers-Wizards game on Jan. 30 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. G-Wiz was running off the floor carrying a large Wizards flag when he was shoved to the ground by Hayes, who was standing by the edge of the baseline to warm up (video here).
Hayes later claimed that the mascot had stepped on his foot but ultimately offered an apology for the incident. He served his one-game suspension for the shove during the Lakers’ game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 5.
As for the seven-footer Hayes’ domestic violence incident with his ex-girlfriend Jamora, that occurred back in July 2021. Police responded to a domestic disturbance call at Hayes’ Los Angeles, Calif. residence, and Hayes ended up getting physical with officers after they arrived (resulting in Hayes being arrested, tased, and eventually having 12 charges filed against him).
TMZ later released video of the incident between Hayes and Jamora, which showed Hayes pushing and spitting at her from inside the residence. Hayes ultimately pled no-contest to the criminal charges and was sentenced to three years’ probation along with community service. Jamora later retained McCoy to represent her during a separate civil lawsuit against Hayes, which was reportedly “settled amicably” in June 2025.
