Updated Feb. 21: Matt Barnes has been removed from the Sacramento Kings broadcasting team, weeks after the news of him putting his hands on a high school broadcaster, a spokesperson from NBC Sports California told The Sacramento Bee.
Barnes had been a studio analyst for the network for the last three seasons, including up until the All-Star Game this past weekend.
He has not commented on his removal from the broadcasts yet.
Updated Feb. 14: Matt Barnes appeared on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz to respond to the incident that occurred during his son’s high school basketball game last week.
Barnes started talking about how he has always yelled at the refs, throughout his basketball journey. As a player, as a coach, and as a parent.
“This particular incident — I will say my one mistake was putting my hand on [the student broadcaster’s] shoulder. A lot of people want to say I grabbed this kid or I did this — I literally put my hand on this kid’s shoulder because it was almost like I was talking to my son,” Barnes said. “He told me to ‘sit my ass down.’ I was just like, ‘Why do you feel comfortable to be able to tell a grown man to sit his ass down? So he and I had a little back and forth, and obviously, admitting my faults to even touch him was wrong of me. But I want to make clear that the narrative of me as some guy that beats up people, I want people to know I didn’t bodyslam this kid, I didn’t chokeslam him, I didn’t do any of the sort. I literally put my hand on his shoulder like I was talking to one of my sons. And again, for touching him, I was wrong. But I just didn’t like the disrespect that came with the entitlement where they felt like they could say anything to me.”
Former NBA player Matt Barnes allegedly told a student announcer at his son’s high school basketball game that he would “slap the s—t” of the teen, according to reports.
Matt Barnes, widely known as a “villain” around the Association, was upset about a no-call for a foul against his son during a game between Harvard-Westlake School and Crespi Carmelite High School.
Barnes had been on the court “multiple times” according to Jake Lancer, the student broadcaster. When the two made eye contact, the 6-foot-7 former small forward allegedly put his hands on Lancer and told him he would “slap the s–t out of you.”
“(Barnes) kind of came up and put his hands on me actually,” said Lancer on the live broadcast after returning from a break.
Other people online said that a student had told Barnes to shut up. Lancer later claimed on X/Twitter that is not what he said.
Barnes responded to criticism on X/Twitter, telling one user to “shut your ass up.
“Don’t let that privileged HW shit go to your head,” he added. “Idgaf who your son is.”
Barnes’ son plays for Crespi, who is led by former Knicks coach Derek Fisher. Crespi lost to Harvard-Westlake, 72-54 who won their fifth-straight Mission League title.
Barnes played in the NBA for 14 seasons across several teams. He won the 2017 NBA Championship as a member of the Golden State Warriors. One of his most notable moments in the game came from fake throwing the ball at Kobe Bryant’s face, and Bryant didn’t even flinch.
Throughout his career, Barnes averaged 8.2 points, 4.6 rpg, and 1.8 assists in 929 games.