Oct 22, 2023, 12:37 PM ET
An American basketball player at a professional Polish women’s club was beaten and left with a head injury midweek with the attacker later detained, according to officials and reports in Polish media Sunday.
Mikayla Cowling, who plays for VBW Arka Gdynia, was attacked late Wednesday in a music club in Gdansk, a city in northern Poland, according to the RMF FM broadcaster, which also quoted the club saying the “brutal beating” left her with a fractured eye socket, among other injuries.
Gdansk is a neighboring city to Gdynia on the Baltic coast.
“I am outraged that such a shameful situation has occurred. Violence and aggression are unacceptable and must be opposed,” Gdynia Mayor Wojciech Szczurek said Sunday on X. “Fortunately, the police quickly caught the attacker. We wish the player good health!”
The attack happened after a EuroCup women’s match in which the Gdynia team defeated Switzerland rival BCF Elfic Fribourg 77-47.
The president of the Gdynia club, Boguslaw Witkowski, said in an interview with the Polish state news agency PAP that Cowling was attacked near the women’s restroom by a security guard.
Cowling, 27, was hit several times on the head, and when she fell, she was also kicked. The most serious injury was to her face and the athlete has a fractured orbital bone, he said. He added that she is at home under observation and will have additional tests next week.
PAP also quoted a police spokesperson who said the attacker, a 48-year-old man, was arrested Friday.
The 6-foot-2 Cowling was a four-year starter at Cal and drafted by the Connecticut Sun with the 33rd overall pick in the 2018 WNBA draft.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.