Saudi police said Wednesday they have released a 14-year-old boy who was filmed dancing to the "Macarena" at an intersection in the Red Sea city of Jiddah, according to local media reports.
The video, which went viral on social media in the kingdom in recent days, shows the boy wearing head phones, gray shorts, a striped T-shirt and neon green and yellow Crocs. He is swaying his hips and arms to the 90s hit song, smiling and giggling throughout the dance.
The state-linked Al-Riyadh news website quoted Col. Aati bin Attiyah al-Qurashi as saying the 14-year-old Arab national was brought to police along with his father, who was asked to sign a pledge vowing to protect his son and not to violate public morals. Al-Qurashi says the boy was then swiftly released from custody.
Police said the video appeared to be a year old. On Tuesday, state-linked news websites reported that the boy had been detained for disrupting traffic and improper public behavior after the video resurfaced.
Western music and dancing is taboo in Saudi Arabia, but such incidents in the past have not necessarily led to lengthy imprisonment or serious punishment.
Traditional dance is permitted. Saudi King Salman and U.S. President Donald Trump were filmed taking part in a traditional all-male Saudi sword dance in May when the president visited the kingdom to boost ties.
Saudi Arabia's young heir to the throne, 31-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has pushed for greater openings for entertainment in the kingdom, including allowing a limited number of musical concerts after a more than 20-year ban.
He has also encouraged young Saudis to become more physically active as part of a wide-reaching reform agenda that includes raising life expectancy in the country.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Lawyers for a teenager who is suing two-time NBA All-Star Ja Morant over a fight during an offseason pickup game can withdraw from the case after citing irreconcilable conflicts with their client, a Tennessee judge ruled Friday.
Rebecca Adelman and Leslie Ballin had filed a motion in Shelby County Circuit Court asking a judge to allow them to withdraw from the lawsuit filed by Joshua Holloway against Morant, who hosted a daylong series of pickup games at his parents' home in July 2022 that ended when the Memphis Grizzlies guard punched the then 17-year-old Holloway once in the face.
Judge Carol Chumney granted the request during a brief hearing Friday. Adelman did not provide details of the nature of conflicts, only saying in court that she felt she was unable to exercise her “legal judgement” in support of Holloway. The judge gave Holloway's parents 30 days to report to the court with information on a new lawyer.
Myca Clay, Holloway's mother, said she was seeking new representation for her son, who plays college basketball for Samford. Clay said after the hearing that she is not open to settling the lawsuit filed in September 2022 and she did not agree with the way her son's lawyers represented him.
“I'm just trying to get justice for my son,” Clay told reporters.
The lawyers' exit from the case came about three weeks after Chumney ruled that Morant “enjoys a presumption of civil immunity” from liability under Tennessee law. Morant claimed he acted in self-defense when he punched Holloway after the teen threw a basketball at Morant, which hit the NBA player in the face.
Morant testified during a December hearing that he was worried about getting hurt after the teen bumped him in the chest, balled his fists and got into a fighting stance before Morant punched Holloway.
The NBA player’s lawyers have argued Morant is protected under Tennessee's “stand your ground” law allowing people who feel threatened at their homes to act with force in certain situations. The law is used in criminal cases, but an earlier ruling by the judge cleared the way for Morant’s lawyers to apply it in the civil case.
A trial had been set in April, but it has been postponed indefinitely.
Morant tore the labrum in his right shoulder in early January, a injury that required surgery, ending a season that started with Morant suspended by the NBA for the first 25 games for a video of the guard flashing a handgun online.
The video showed Morant sitting in the passenger seat of a car and was posted after he finished serving an eight-game suspension in March for another video in which he displayed a handgun in a Denver-area strip club.
Morant apologized for both videos.
FILE - Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant stands on the sideline during the first half of an NBA basketball game between the Grizzlies and the Golden State Warriors, Jan. 15, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. Lawyers for a teenager who is suing the two-time NBA All-Star over a fight during an offseason pickup game can withdraw from the case after the teen's attorneys cited irreconcilable conflicts with their client, a Tennessee judge ruled Friday, May 3. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill, File)
