The NBA has suspended Memphis Grizzlies forward Matt Barnes two games for his role in an offseason, off-court fight with Knicks head coach Derek Fisher. The league announced that the suspension was for "engaging in a physical altercation and threatening" Fisher.
Matt Barnes suspended 2 games for off-court incident with Derek Fisher, per report
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Barnes reportedly attacked Fisher in early October after learning that the Knicks coach, who had begun a relationship with Barnes' estranged wife, Gloria Govan, was in Govan's Los Angeles home. A source told the New York Post that Barnes drove the 95 miles from the Grizzlies California training camp to Govan's house to "beat the s-t" out of Fisher, though Barnes and other reports have disputed that. Barnes and Fisher were teammates on the Lakers for two seasons.
Barnes reportedly became angered after his twin 6-year-old sons called to inform him that Fisher was in the house. Barnes, according to the Post, arrived at Govan’s home at around 11:45 p.m. on a Sunday and later texted a friend that he “kicked [Fisher’s] ass from the back yard to the front room, and spit in [Govan’s] face.”
A different source told the Post that Barnes “came after” Fisher, but that the Knicks coach only had a few scratches. According to the report, Fisher missed the Knicks practice the following day in New York because of flight delays and returned to team on Tuesday with a few scratches on his face.
The NBA learned about the incident from the Post’s report, according to Wojnarowski, and quickly dispatched league security to investigate.
A month later, Barnes spoke to the media about the incident. He blamed Fisher for “wanting to run to the cops and the NBA” and said that Post is “run by the New York Knicks.”
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