Sean 'Diddy' Combs not charged with assault over kettlebell encounter

Sean ‘Diddy’ Coombs performs at the BET Awards in Los Angeles in June. Photograph: Kevork Djansezian/Reuters

The rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs will not be charged with felony assault stemming from an incident involving a kettlebell weight at the University of California, Los Angeles, city officials said on Thursday, but he still may face a lesser penalty.

Combs, 45, was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon last month by campus police, and held in jail.

Media reports said Combs was involved in an altercation with UCLA’s football coach at the campus athletic facility. The rapper’s son, Justin Combs, is on the college football team.

The case was being referred to the Los Angeles city attorney’s office to determine if Combs will face a misdemeanour charge, a spokesman for the Los Angeles county district attorney’s office said.

UCLA’s football coach, Jim Mora, called the encounter “an unfortunate incident for all parties involved” in a statement following Combs’s arrest.

Grammy-winning Combs, also known as Puff Daddy and Diddy, is also an actor, entrepreneur and the founder of Bad Boy Records. Forbes estimated his earnings at $60m last year.