Blake Griffin Allegedly Slapped Man At Las Vegas Nightclub Over Picture, Police Investigate: Report

Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin slapped a man at a Las Vegas nightclub on Sunday, according to a report. The incident purportedly occurred after Griffin balked at the man’s attempt to take a photo of the crowd at Tao in the Venetian hotel and casino.

The alleged victim is a 39-year-old man identified only as “Daniel,” TMZ Sports reports. Griffin was annoyed by the camera phone’s flash and attempted to grab it, the man claimed in a statement to Tao security. When Daniel refused to give up his phone, Griffin allegedly grabbed him by the neck and told him to hand it over “or else.”

When security arrived at the scene, Griffin purportedly instructed them to “get him the f--- out of this club.” Then, he “slapped me in the right side of the face,” Daniel alleges.

Daniel filed a battery report with the Las Vegas Metro Police department, TMZ Sports notes. Officers interviewed the man in his hotel room on Sunday. Griffin has yet to respond to the allegations, but a photo posted to Instagram confirmed that he was at Tao that day.

This isn’t the first time that Griffin was accused of slapping someone. In February, satirical sports blog Empire Sports claimed that the Clippers forward slapped Justin Bieber at a Los Angeles Starbucks after the pop star was rude to a barista. Bieber’s representatives later confirmed that the story was completely false.

Griffin confirmed the rumor that he slapped Bieber was false in a April interview with Rolling Stone. However, he jokingly said that he would have stepped in if Bieber really had threatened a barista.

“If he was tormenting a Starbucks barista, yeah, I’d have to,” Griffin said. “As a citizen, you do your part. Also, it’s a way of giving back to the baristas for never really leaving a tip.”