Trouble in New York. Not only did the Sacramento Kings drop a game to the Knicks Sunday evening at Madison Square Garden, but they found a way to land on TMZ as part of their postgame activities.
A report surfaced Monday morning that the NYPD was looking to question Matt Barnes after nightclub patrons accused him of choking someone. The veteran wing has since been in contact with authorities to give his account of the events.
"Matt is cooperating with NYPD's investigation," Matt Barnes' attorney Matt Spiro said in a statement to CSN California.
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Barnes also posted a statement on the report to his Instagram account, writing "There's always two sides to a story.. The side the media consistently tries to paint of me.... And what actually happened! Don't believe everything you read."
Later Monday after afternoon, the Kings issued the following statement: "We have clear standards of conduct and behavior expected of the entire Kings organization – on and off the court. We are working with all parties involved to gather information in order to take any appropriate next steps."
Barnes and DeMarcus Cousins went out to a New York City nightclub following the game, which by all means is well within their rights. While information is still being gathered, it appears that Barnes got into an altercation after bumping into a woman and Cousins had to come to his aid.
According to TMZ, Barnes claims to be the victim in this incident and has taken pictures of his injuries that he believes support his account of the events.
NBA
“Barnes claims the woman reacted by slapping him in the face, hard -- and that’s when all hell broke loose.
Barnes claims the woman’s crew -- which included several men -- jumped in and began to get violent. Barnes was knocked to the ground in the melee and one of the men began to choke him.
We’re told Barnes got physical in an effort to protect himself. Cousins jumped in to defend Barnes.”
Spiro told TMZ, “We do not believe a crime was committed and are hopeful no charges will be pressed.”
The Kings are scheduled to fly to Dallas sometime on Monday where they will face the Mavericks on Wednesday evening.