NBPA Reportedly Files Grievance for Matt Barnes over Derek Fisher Incident
The National Basketball Players Association is reportedly coming to the defense of Memphis Grizzlies forward Matt Barnes after he was suspended for two games without pay over an incident involving New York Knicks head coach Derek Fisher during the offseason.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported Wednesday the NBPA filed a grievance on Barnes' behalf to get his suspension without pay rescinded.
In October, Ian Mohr of the New York Post reported Barnes drove 95 miles to engage Fisher in a physical altercation when his twin sons "called to tell him that Fisher was at the house" after Fisher had started a relationship with Barnes' estranged wife.
Wojnarowski and Shams Charania reported for Yahoo Sports the NBA was likely to investigate a physical altercation involving Barnes and Fisher in Los Angeles.
"Fisher had traveled to California on Saturday to visit his children and was visiting the house that Barnes shared with his estranged wife, Gloria Govan, the former star of the 'Basketball Wives LA' reality show," Wojnarowski and Charania reported, citing sources.
On Dec. 28, per Howard Beck of Bleacher Report, the NBA announced Barnes had been suspended for two games without pay as a result of the incident. He sat out the Grizzlies' games on Dec. 29 and Jan. 2 to fulfill his punishment.
However, Wojnarowski's new report states NBPA executive director Michele Roberts filed the appeal on Barnes' behalf to recoup $64,000, two games' worth of lost salary.
The NBA did not punish Fisher in the wake of the incident. Barnes played in the Grizzlies' next four games post-suspension but is currently battling a thumb injury that has kept him on the bench.
