Arike Ogunbowale Arrested for Allegedly Punching Man in Nightclub After Unrivaled Win
The Mist BC Unrivaled squad defeated Phantom BC by a score of 80-74 to win the league championship in its second season on March 4.
This marked the end of another solid year for Unrivaled. And given that the players had been working hard and putting their bodies on the line for ten or so weeks, it wasn't surprising to see many players celebrating out at Miami nightclubs that same night.
However, a disturbing story has emerged regarding Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale, who was on the winning Mist BC squad.
Disturbing Arike Obunbowale Report Turns Heads After Mist BC Unrivaled Win
Andy Slater of Fox Sports made an X post on the morning of March 6 that read, "SLATER SCOOP: WNBA All-Star Arike Ogunbowale was arrested on Thursday while celebrating her team’s Unrivaled basketball championship at Club E11EVEN in Miami.
"Police sources tell me she punched a man in the face and he fell to the ground.
"It was also caught on camera."
SLATER SCOOP: WNBA All-Star Arike Ogunbowale was arrested on Thursday while celebrating her team’s Unrivaled basketball championship at Club E11EVEN in Miami.
— Andy Slater (@AndySlater) March 6, 2026
Police sources tell me she punched a man in the face and he fell to the ground.
It was also caught on camera. pic.twitter.com/qSK3Gfn8Na
While Slater is seen as credible, the fact that this report was initially isolated raised questions about its accuracy. But the report has since been confirmed by TMZ Sports, which released its own article about the story on Friday morning.
TMZ's report said that the alleged victim claims he was trying to escort Ogunbowale out of the nightclub because of another altercation, when Ogunbowale then punched him in the face.
A spokesperson from E11EVEN Miami (where the altercation took place) released a statement that read, "We are proud that E11EVEN Miami continues to be the location of choice for so many people to celebrate major moments and milestones," the club said. "We were thrilled to have served as the venue for the official championship after party for the Unrivaled champions and are honored that athletes and teams across multiple sports consistently choose E11EVEN to celebrate their victories.
"We remain committed to providing a world-class environment that reflects the energy, excitement, and prestige of those moments," it added.
Ogunbowale is a four-time WNBA All-Star and a two-time WNBA All-Star Game MVP. She is considered one of the top pure scorers in the sport and has spent her entire WNBA career in Dallas to this point.
The Wings have released a statement on this story, saying, “The Wings are aware of an incident involving Arike Ogunbowale and are in the process of gathering more information. Further comments will be provided once we have more details," per an X post from Myah Taylor.
There is surely more to come from this story.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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