Image via Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office

Ethan Skolnick, a Miami-based former CBS Sports NBA reporter and radio host, was arrested Wednesday and charged with “battery on a person 65 years of age or older” for allegedly beating up his father.

The alleged battery happened before noon at the home of Skolnick’s parents. Skolnick’s mother called 911 on her son after she claimed he had been repeatedly punching his father in the face and arms. From the Miami Herald:

Earlier in the day, Boca Raton officers had been called to the parents’ home, where Ethan Skolnick was staying, after his estranged wife contacted police to check on him, according to the report. Though Skolnick cooperated with the check, officers were called back to the residence shortly after when Shelly Skolnick called to report the alleged assault.

When officers returned, they found Skolnick’s father with a bloodied nostril and a torn shirt. Shelly Skolnick told police that her son “went nuts” after the police left, believing his parents were responsible for calling police that morning. He then began punching his father, though his mother intervened and they both ran away from their son.

“He beat him up,” Shelly Skolnick yelled, according to the police report.

When police arrived, Skolnick’s dad indicated where his son had allegedly hit him, though he told them that one bruise that was visible on his arm was from another time his son punched him a week earlier.

Police took Skolnick from his parents’ home and booked him in Palm Beach County Jail. Skolnick went before a judge Thursday morning and was instructed to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

[UPDATE: August 11, 8:20 a.m.] This post has been updated to reflect that Skolnick is no longer an employee of CBS Sports. His contract there expired on August 1.


[Miami Herald]