URBANA — Former University of Illinois basketball player Joseph Bertrand has been criminally charged with domestic battery for an incident that happened last weekend with his girlfriend.
A single count of the misdemeanor offense was filed Wednesday, alleging that Bertrand pushed his 24-year-old girlfriend, causing her to fall to the ground on Saturday just before 1 a.m.
A Champaign police report said the incident happened on a sidewalk on East John Street near Third Street and that there was a witness.
The report said Bertrand, 25, of Champaign, and his girlfriend were walking home from a campus bar and were arguing about her belief that he was hiding something on his cellphone from her.