Report: Matt Barnes Apologized to James Harden's Mother for In-Game Insults
Matt Barnes is a pretty huge jerk.
This is less an opinion than it is an observation. The man is an enforcer—the guy who comes into your house, washes your whites and colors together, and pees in the Keurig before leaving.
This is to say, making life miserable is Barnes' job, and the Los Angeles Clippers small forward seems to enjoy his role immensely. He's good at what he does, but sometimes he takes things too far, which seemed to be the case during Wednesday night's Game 2 against the Houston Rockets.
Barnes, who picked up a technical harrying James Harden at every turn during the Clippers' 115-109 loss, allegedly also said (warning: NSFW and terrible) some horrible things, per CBSSports Radio's Nick Wright, to Harden's mother, Monja Willis, who was on hand for the game.
UPDATE: May 8
Matt Barnes spoke to media Friday about the remarks he made to James Harden's mother during Game 2.
ESPN's Arash Markazi tweeted out Barnes' statements. The Clippers forward elaborated on the exchange, saying what's being reported in the media regarding his words is untrue. He also says he didn't know who Harden's mother was at the time and that he later apologized for his words.
Barnes also implied Harden's mother kind of brought it on herself.
Barnes says Doc Rivers has given him an earful over the incident.
Harden also addressed the media over Barnes' words Friday. The Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen reports that Harden called the remarks "disrespectful" but is putting the incident behind him.
"In any situation you talk about somebody's parents that's just disrespectful," Harden said. "But I'm focused on Game 3. We're very focused. We're locked in. There's going to be some great intensity."
Barnes was fined $50,000 by the league for directing inappropriate language at a fan, according to Yahoo! Sports' Mark Spears.
---End of Update---
No one has been able to confirm for sure what Barnes said, but according to TMZ Sports, Willis claims he apologized to her after the game.
Willis told TMZ that Barnes corked off a remark in her direction that angered her older son.
"My older son walked over to [Barnes] and told him to apologize," Willis told TMZ. "And he did."
Barnes told her he had lost his own mother and didn't mean to disrespect her.
"What he told me was that he would never want to disrespect anyone's mother because his mother passed from cancer…and that he was sorry," Willis said.
She accepted his apology. As for the exact nature of the remark, Willis said she'd rather not say.
"We'll leave that on the court," Willis said.
Dan is on Twitter. Remember: Everyone's got a momma.
