Hawks point guard Dennis Schroder declined to comment in detail about his misdemeanor battery charge from Friday in Dekalb County but said he planned to learn from his latest off-court incident.
“I’ve been here four years,” Schroder said in his first public comments since his arrest. “Came here at 19 and I think (showed) improvement every year. I just try to get better every day and try to learn. I think we are all human beings. Everybody makes mistakes. I try to learn from it and keep earning my teammate’s trust.”
Schroder, 24, and three other people were arrested after Brookhaven Police responded to a call about a fight in a shopping center parking lot on Buford Highway. Police said that a video recording of the incident showed Schroder “initiate contact” with the victim and that all four arrested individuals later struck the victim with their hands and feet.
The arrest is the latest off-court incident for Schroder.
Coach Mike Budenholzer sat Schroder for a handful of games during the 2015-16 season after the two clashed. The Hawks suspended Schroder for a game without pay last season when he reported back late from the All-Star break, and Schroder did not start the next game after he was late for a team bus.
Schroder’s arrest came days after Budenholzer and first-year general manager Travis Schlenk praised his increased maturity.
“Certainly we don’t want any of our players or Dennis to be put in this kind of position, and I think he understands that,” Budenholzer said Sunday. “I think it’s an opportunity for him to learn. He is going to continue to grow. He has the ability to become a leader on our team.
“He has to earn everybody’s trust, everybody’s respect. That’s what comes with leadership, or that’s how you become a leader. But it’s part of his growth, it’s part of the process. We are disappointed that anyone would be in that position.”
