Yesterday I reported that Matt Barnes slapped an assistant coach Monday night during a summer league game in San Francisco. Barnes acknowledged he slapped the coach, Rick Lewis of the SF City Golf Rush, to Sam Amick of AOL Fanhouse Wednesday night.
According to two fans who were at Monday’s championship series opener and spoke to FanHouse, Barnes — who was arguing a call with an official during the third quarter of a contentious game — slapped an assistant coach of the Gold Rush team after a brief verbal exchange. The coach, according to a report on the web site Sports by Brooks, was Rick Lewis.
Having already diffused several “minor tussles,” as one of the fans who spoke to FanHouse said, the officials conferred and assessed double technical fouls and let all involved continue play. Barnes told FanHouse on Wednesday night that the coach’s taunting in his ear caused him to lose his temper but said he should have handled the situation differently.
“Some people do too much or talk too much, and there’s only so much you can take,” said Barnes, who does not expect the coach to pursue a lawsuit. “It’s hard. It’s definitely hard when the refs have it out for you, saying ‘Oh, you’re in the NBA, so you don’t get this (call) and we’re going to call this.’ Then the coach is talking and completely disrespecting me.
“It’s frustrating, but at the same time I’ve got to keep my composure because I’m a professional and I get paid to do this. I lost my professionalism for a little while, but I regained my composure and we won a championship tonight.”
Obviously Barnes isn’t going to come out and say “I SLAPPED HIM!” for legal reasons, but it happened and the fact that he acknowledged a lawsuit as a possibility belies that.
Barnes was doing the league a favor by showing up Monday and Wednesday, a fact I’m sure not lost on Lewis. Add in that Lewis was mocking Barnes before he was slapped - and that there wasn’t much force behind the blow - and safe to assume Lewis won’t be suing.
That doesn’t excuse Barnes’ appalling lack of professionalism.
What makes it worse to me is that Barnes thought it was alright to do it in a non-NBA setting. As if it’s okay to slap someone so long as they aren’t standing in an NBA arena.
Barnes got away with one. We’ll see if he learns from the experience.
12:12 pm on August 12th, 2010
“What did the five fingers say to the face? Slap!”
12:23 pm on August 12th, 2010
If he slapped a coach, they ought to cut his ass, let him get a real job, scum, nothing but scum.
1:28 pm on August 12th, 2010
He is a damn fool. Cut his ass. Where does he got off hitting someone?
1:46 pm on August 12th, 2010
Take that, cracka!
8:50 pm on August 12th, 2010
They need to come down hard on this foolish punk. He needs to be punished. An investigation should be started by the league and he should be bounced from the league. Thats the only way guys like him are going to learn that they are role models and that every body is watching them. Thats the price of fame, thats the price you pay when your in the NBA,NFL,MLB or whatever profesional sport. If this guy can do something like that, it just shows that he needs to be in some anger management classes, and that he has no business being in the NBA (No Boys Allowed). This is a mans league not a little boys league.
5:46 pm on August 13th, 2010
for those talking about cutting him evidently have never played organized sports. Just because he gets paid to play doesn’t mean he should be tolerant to any abuse that comes his way.
5:48 pm on August 13th, 2010
Hey jeff from okc if i come punk you, i guess you being a man is just gonna take it and walk away huh?
8:11 pm on August 14th, 2010
The dude has multiple neck tats. That should tell you all you need to know about his character makeup.