According to reports, a former NBA player, Matt Barnes, allegedly threatened a student announcer at his son’s high school basketball game, stating that he would physically harm the teenager. Barnes, who is often regarded as a controversial figure in the NBA, became upset after a foul against his son was not called during a match between Harvard-Westlake School and Crespi Carmelite High School. The incident occurred when Barnes, who stands at 6-foot-7 and previously played as a small forward, approached the student broadcaster, Jake Lancer, and made physical contact while threatening to harm him. Lancer mentioned this on a live broadcast after a brief hiatus from the game.
There were online claims suggesting that a student had told Barnes to be quiet, but Lancer later denied this on social media platform X/Twitter. In response to criticism, Barnes took to X/Twitter, telling a user to stop talking and dismissing any sense of entitlement associated with Harvard-Westlake School. He added, “I don’t care who your son is.”
Barnes’ son plays for Crespi, a team coached by former Knicks coach Derek Fisher. However, Crespi faced defeat against Harvard-Westlake, losing with a score of 72-54. This loss marked Harvard-Westlake’s fifth consecutive Mission League title victory.
Having played in the NBA for 14 seasons with various teams, Barnes achieved success by winning the 2017 NBA Championship as a member of the Golden State Warriors. One memorable moment from his career involved him pretending to throw the ball at Kobe Bryant’s face, to which Bryant did not react. Throughout his career, Barnes maintained an average of 8.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 929 games.