Philadelphia, 2/6/06--Lee Nailon, the Philadelphia ’ERS forward, plead “not guilty” to charges he assaulted his wife, telling reporters that domestic violence is unacceptable, that he’s devoted much of his time to domestic violence causes, that it’s inexcusable for a man to raise his hand against a woman, but “Dat bitch was axing for it!”

In his first opportunity to “clear my name,” Nailon, a reserve playing for his fourth NBA team, wanted fans, teammates, and “most importantly, my family and friends,” to know how “wrong messing with a woman like that is, and how it contradict all of the principles I was raised on and still draw my faith from.”

However, he said, in his particular and highly unusual case, “Dat bitch was axing for it!”

Bonnie Nailon, his wife, standing beside him, said, “I didn’t ask for it. I never asked for you to abuse me, Lee,” to which Nailon, holding her hand in a gesture of solidarity, said, “Yeah you did, bitch.”

Nailon said he looked forward to returning to the team, so that he could keep his remarkable string of DNP’s (“Did Not Play”) alive.