REPORT: Matt Barnes explains his side of beef with Derek Fisher

Matt Barnes

Matt Barnes/Photo courtesy of Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Clippers

 

Former Clippers forward Matt Barnes on Thursday explained his side of his physical altercation with former Lakers teammate and current Knicks coach Derek Fisher on Saturday night to ESPN.com reporter Ramona Shelburne.

According to Barnes, he did not go to the home of his ex-wife Gloria Govan to beat up on Fisher. Rather, he went to check on his twin 6-year-old sons after one of them – Carter – texted his father. That led to a Face-Time, where Barnes could tell his son was upset that Fisher was there.

Barnes, now with the Memphis Grizzlies, would not talk about the physical nature of his beef with Fisher. But he told Shelburne he wanted to make it clear that he did not drive 95 miles from Grizzlies camp in Santa Barbara to confront Fisher. He was at home in Marina Del Rey, about 15 minutes from his ex-wife’s home, when he got the text from Carter.

“I can’t believe people think I was some maniac driving 95 miles and listening to Tupac to go beat somebody up,” Barnes said in the story. “No. I live 15 minutes away, and I was going over to check on my kids because they seemed uncomfortable. That was my main reason for going over there.”