Lakers’ Luka Doncic says he’s in custody battle for daughters
Source 1 – Dave McMenamin, ESPN:
Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić has separated from his fiancée, Anamaria Goltes, and is in a custody battle over their two daughters, he told ESPN.
“I love my daughters more than anything and I’ve been doing everything I can for them to be with me in the U.S. during the season, but that hasn’t been possible, so I recently made the tough decision to end my engagement,” Dončić said in a statement provided to ESPN on Tuesday. “Everything I do is for my daughters’ happiness and I will always fight to be with them and give them the best life I can.”
Earlier Tuesday, TMZ reported that Goltes filed a petition seeking child support and attorney fees from Dončić. Sources familiar with Dončić’s situation told ESPN that the petition was filed in California – where one of Dončić’s daughters was only with him there for three months last spring, and his other daughter has never been to the state. Dončić had “no idea” Goltes had filed the petition.
Sources familiar with Dončić’s situation added that Dončić, who signed a three-year, $165 million contract extension with the Lakers in August, has always provided for his family and pays for his daughters’ expenses “without limitation.”
[…]
Dončić spent time away from the Lakers earlier this season to travel to Slovenia to be present for the birth of Olivia, missing games against the Toronto Raptors on Dec. 4 and Boston Celtics on Dec. 5.
During Dončić’s visitation, he expressed a desire to bring Gabriela back to the states with him when he was returning to join the team in Philadelphia to play the 76ers on Dec. 7. A disagreement with his then-fiancée ensued and Goltes, 27, called the police, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN.
Officers reported to the scene at Kranj Maternity Hospital on Dec. 6. According to the police report, reviewed by ESPN, officers “did not detect any elements of a criminal offense or misdemeanor” perpetrated by Dončić.
Dončić left the hospital peacefully and flew back to the states later that day, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN.
He has not seen his daughters or Goltes since.