The Billy Butler and Danny Valencia fight got even weirder

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Billy Butler and Danny Valencia, teammates on the A’s, recently got into a fight in the clubhouse. This fight was legitimate, not just some pushing and shoving, as Butler is now on the seven-day concussion disabled list after getting punched in the head by Valencia. It got a little weirder late Sunday night when Coco Crisp, Eric Hosmer, and Yonder Alonso — two of the three teammates of Valencia and Butler — backed Valencia in this altercation. The strangest part is the most recent, though, as Susan Slusser reported what caused this fight in the first place.

Butler apparently tried to get one of Valencia’s endorsement deals taken away. When an equipment representative asked Valencia if he used his off-brand cleats during games, and Valencia said only during workouts, Butler chimed in to say Valencia was lying, and even allegedly said the rep’s company should drop Valencia. You can guess how Valencia took that, and when he confronted Butler about it, Butler reportedly said, “I can say whatever I want, and your bitch ass isn’t going to do anything about it.”

Valencia did do something about it, considering Butler is now on the DL with a concussion sustained from getting clocked. As Athletics Nation points out, this altercation makes both sides look wrong — yes, Butler not only attacked Valencia’s earning potential and then challenged him to do something about it, but Valencia didn’t necessarily have to respond with violence. Whether you agree with that or not, what’s clear is the A’s have a problem with chemistry — general manager David Forst described it as “not great,” which is pretty solid understatement considering what we’re talking about here.