These Pro-Am leagues have proven to be very physical and intense. Enough for Matt Barnes to throw a punch at an opponent and be suspended one game.
Barnes reportedly punched an opponent during a San Francisco Pro-Am game Thursday, according to San Francisco’s KGO TV.
“He elbowed me and pushed me, so he got one,” Barnes told ESPN.com college basketball writer Diamond Leung.
“People just think they can talk any way or do anything to … me. You can’t. You can’t do that, ’cause you know people are men out here. So if you think you’re going to come out here and punk someone, that s— ain’t happening.”
Barnes said that he wasn’t the instigator and was just protecting himself.
“That’s part of the game, man. It’s physical,” he said. “You know what I mean? People come out here and think they can beat and push on me. There’s only so much I’m going to take. I’m a grown man first, so if you think you’re going to come out here and rough me up and cheap-shot, I’m not having that s—.”
Barnes wasn’t ejected from the game, and eventually hit the game-winning shot.
Read more about Barnes’ suspension at ESPN.com.
