Update: According to Graham Rayman of the New York Daily News, the NYPD is nearing arrest of Barnes for his role in the altercation. Cousins, for now, seems to be getting off without an issue.
“They’ve got enough to charge Barnes with an assault on a woman,” a police source said. “It will probably be a misdemeanor assault on one of the females who was pushed or choked or sustained some sort of injury. She’s obviously cooperating.”
Cousins, a key member of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic basketball team, will likely not be charged, the source said.
Original Story Follows:
Sacramento Kings players Matt Barnes and DeMarcus Cousins are being sued for their involvement in a NYC nightclub incident earlier in the week, according to TMZ:
According to the lawsuit filed in NYC, Jasmine Besiso and Myronn Powell claim they were innocently hanging out when Barnes approached Jasmine and began to choke her.
In the suit, Powell says he saw the attack and tried to intervene but that’s when Cousins stepped in and punched him in the face.
At that point, Barnes allegedly released Jasmine’s neck and elbowed her in the face — knocked her unconscious. Myronn claims he was taken to the ground and Barnes and Cousins proceeded to kick and punch him in the head and body.
The NYPD was called to the scene but Barnes and Cousins had left by the time they arrived.
Jasmine Besiso, despite other conflicting earlier reports, is not Matt Barnes’ girlfriend. It is unclear if the two knew each other before the incident occurred.
Matt Barnes and DeMarcus Cousins are no strangers to off-court drama, with both players being involved in separate issues during their NBA careers. The NYPD, Sacramento Kings, and the NBA are all investigating the matter.
A rep for Barnes also told TMZ that he believes the two players did not commit a crime, and that they were actually the victims of the situation.
“There’s always two sides to a story,” Barnes recently posted to Instagram. “The side the media consistently tries to paint of me…. And what actually happened! Don’t believe everything you read.”
