Basketball star Matt Barnes is obviously not over his ex-wife, if his actions this past weekend are any indication.
On Saturday (October 3), Barnes was at the Memphis Grizzlies training camp in Santa Barbara, California. When Barnes found out that his former teammate Derek Fisher was with Barnes’ ex-wife at the estranged couple’s former home no less, Barnes decided to take matters into his own hands, literally.
Over the weekend, Derek had flown from New York to Los Angeles to visit his children. He stopped by Barnes’ former home to see the man’s ex-wife.
Reportedly, on hearing the news of his ex-teammate paying his ex-wife a visit, an enraged Matt drove 95 miles, from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles to confront Derek and “beat the s–t” out of him.
At the time of the incident, Fisher was with Barnes’ ex-wife and a few other friends at a bonfire that was taking place at the former home of Matt. A source told New York Post about the altercation and how it all began. Matt was apparently very angry.
“Barnes was in Santa Barbara [at Memphis Grizzlies training camp] and heard that Fisher was in his house. He went crazy. He got in his car and went to the house and went after Fisher.”
Another source corroborated the story of Matt driving to accost his former teammate in Los Angeles.
“Someone told Matt that Fisher was at the house and he drove down there…he went over to confront Derek”
Apparently, when Barnes arrived at his old house to fight Fisher, two of those who were present at the get-together intervened before things got out of hand. The physical altercation between Matt and Derek began in the backyard, then continued through the kitchen and ended in the front room of the home.
A source that is close to Derek said that the fight didn’t turn out to be too bad for either party; Fisher walked away unharmed and Barnes will not have to face charges against him.
“Matt came after Derek but he only had a few scratches…Derek’s not going to press charges, he’s going to let it go.”
According to Yahoo Sports, however, another source close to Derek indicated that he was contemplating pressing charges against Matt.
Apparently, Fisher was not there when the police arrived on the scene. However, Barnes’ ex-wife plans to file a restraining order against her ex-husband.
Basketball Wives LA star Gloria Govan, the ex-wife of Matt, is reportedly in a relationship with her ex’s former Lakers teammate, Derek Fisher. The two have not been dating for very long. Derek and his wife of 10 years filed for divorce not even a year ago.
Fisher is the current coach for the New York Knicks. Supposedly, the scuffle between Barnes and his former teammate is the reason that Fisher was unable to make it to a recent Knicks practice this Monday (October 5). Other people claim that it was not the fight with Matt that stalled him, but rather plane delays while he tried to return to New York on Sunday. A tweet that was posted by the Knicks did not clear the matter up, but did confirm that their coach was not present at practice for undisclosed reasons. The tweet said that the former Lakers player was “not at practice due to personal reasons — expected back tomorrow.”
Yahoo reports that the NBA is aware of and will soon investigate the incident that occurred Saturday night between Barnes and Fisher.
“We are aware and currently gathering information regarding today’s report involving Matt Barnes.”
Matt Barnes and Derek Fisher played together as teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers during the years of 2010 through 2012.
[Photos Courtesy of Harry How, Michael Buckner, Joshua Blanchard, & John Parra/Getty Images]
