Former NBA player Matt Barnes put his hands on student announcer Jake Lancer during Barnes’ son’s high school basketball game.
The Harvard-Westlake Wolverines and Crespi Carmelite Celts high school basketball teams played against each other in the matchup, and Barnes’ son plays for Crespi, which is coached by former NBA guard Derek Fisher.
After Barnes’ son was assessed a technical foul, he appeared to be yelling at the officials on the floor before eventually making his way over to the student announcer.
While it was stated on social media that Lancer had told Barnes to “shut up,” multiple videos from the broadcast – both before and after the altercation – do not display Lancer saying that towards Barnes.
“Matt Barnes kinda came up to and just put his hands on me actually,” Lancer said in the second video. “So, I mean I’m all good. But, it’s kind of, I don’t know.”
Barnes was clearly upset by the call against his son, something that might have affected how he approached the student announcer.
Jack Pollon, a freelance writer who covers high school basketball, obtained some quotes from Lancer on what happened during the altercation.
According to Lancer, Barnes threatened to “slap the s—” out of him during the game.
It’s possible that Barnes overheard something that he thought Lancer said, which surely would have affected how the former NBA champion was feeling.
Barnes responded to the entire situation on social media, appearing to refer to Lancer by saying that the student announcer said some “slick s—” during the game.
It’s a troubling scenario all around and hopefully something that won’t happen again with Barnes in attendance at a game.
A former second-round pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, Barnes had a lengthy NBA career playing for the Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies.
He won a title with the Warriors in his final NBA season – the 2016-17 campaign.
It will be interesting to see if Barnes faces any repercussions from the incident.
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