The NYPD says they want to talk to NBA player Matt Barnes for an alleged assault on a woman inside a nightclub, hours after his team lost to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden last Sunday night.
Barnes, a forward for the Sacramento Kings, was sitting with a woman inside Avenue Nightclub in Chelsea early Monday when they began to argue, police said. Bystanders tried to intervene, and a fight broke out, they say.
A patron reported that Barnes injured her by pushing her. Barnes left before police arrived.
TMZSports, which obtained video of the aftermath of the alleged attack, reported Barnes choked a woman, though he later told the site that he accidentally bumped her, and she reacted by slapping him in the face.
That's when her group and Barnes and his friends began fighting, he told TMZSports. He said he was knocked to the ground and choked.
Teammate DeMarcus Cousins is also seen on video shaking his own hand after the alleged fight, saying he just hurt it punching someone. Cousins references someone trying to "choke Matt," apparently referring to Barnes.
The incident happened after the Kings played the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. At one point in the game, fans taunted Barnes and chanted "Derek Fisher," referring to the former Knicks coach. Barnes and Fisher got into a physical fight last year after Fisher started dating Barnes' estranged wife.
Barnes' attorney told NBC 4 New York he's cooperating with NYPD's investigation.
But Barnes took to Instagram Monday to issue his own response, saying: "There's always two sides to a story. The side the media tries to paint of me and what actually happened. Don't believe everything you read."
Police say they also want to talk to Cousins and anyone else who may have seen what happened at Avenue.
The Kings released a statement saying the team was gathering more information before taking action.
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"We have clear standards of conduct and behavior expected of the entire Kings organization - on and off the court," it said. "We are working with all parties involved to gather information in order to take any appropriate next steps."
