Matt Barnes & DeMarcus Cousins Involved In Brawl, NBA Player Claims Self-Defense In Choking Incident

UPDATE: 9:45 p.m. EST - Regarding the incident involving Barnes and Cousins, a spokesperson for the Sacramento Kings told International Business Times, “We have clear standards of conduct and behavior expected of the entire Kings organization – on and off the court. We are working with all parties involved to gather information in order to take any appropriate next steps.”

Original Story:

One of the NBA’s most notorious players is having another run-in with the law. Sacramento Kings’ forward Matt Barnes is reportedly wanted for questioning by police after an incident at a New York City nightclub early Monday morning.

According to TMZ, law enforcement received a call to Avenue, a nightclub about a mile away from Madison Square Garden, stating that a man assaulted two women and another man. Barnes allegedly choked a woman after the Kings played a game against the New York Knicks Sunday night, and at least one of his teammates was at the nightclub as well.

TMZ acquired video of Barnes and Kings’ center DeMarcus Cousins after the incident took place. Cousins can be heard saying that he hit someone who was “trying to choke Matt.” Barnes and Cousins left the scene before police arrived.

In response to the news, Barnes told TMZ that he was only defending himself. Barnes’ rep claims that the NBA player accidentally bumped a woman at the nightclub, and a brawl broke out when she slapped him in the face. Barnes alleges that several men who were sitting in a VIP booth with the woman became violent and knocked him down.

Barnes has had multiple incidents with police during his NBA career. He was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence in 2010 against Gloria Govan, though he was never charged with a crime and the couple went on to get married. After their divorce, Barnes allegedly had an altercation with former teammate Derek Fisher, who is currently dating Govan.

Barnes was suspended for two games by the NBA in 2015 for the incident with Fisher, which reportedly involved the Kings player driving to his ex-wife’s house to confront his ex-teammate. Fisher and Barnes played together with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2010-12, and Fisher was the head coach of the New York Knicks last season.

During Sunday night’s game, fans at MSG showered Barnes with chants of “Derek Fisher.” Barnes had arguably his worst game of the season against New York, missing 10 of his 11 shot attempts.

Barnes was also arrested in 2012 for driving with a suspended license and allegedly threatening a police officer.