Former NBA star Matt Barnes has reportedly lost his job at NBC following an altercation with a high-schooler.
Barnes went to watch a game between Crespi Carmelite and Harvard-Westlake last month and would get into it with a referee after one of his sons was assessed a technical. Taking issue with an official is understandable enough – they do tend to piss everyone off – however, the former guard also went in on a student who was manning the school’s online broadcast, threatening to slap him after putting a hand on his shoulder.
“He said, ‘What do you think you’re looking at?’” the student, Jake Lancer, told freelance sports reporter Jack Pollon. “And I said, ‘You’re screaming you’re a (expletive) to the refs mid-game while I’m trying to announce, don’t touch me,’ and then he said, ‘I’ll slap the S- out of you.’”
Barnes insisted he was not in the wrong when he recalled the incident during a conversation with Dan Le Batard. While he admitted he should have never touched the student, he didn’t think he went overboard.
It appears NBC Sports California disagrees as The Sacramento Bee has reported that Barnes is no longer working as an analyst for the Kings, having done so since 2021.
“An NBC Sports California spokesperson told The Sacramento Bee Matt Barnes will no longer be appearing on the network. Barnes, a Sacramento native who twice played for the Kings during his 14-year NBA career, declined to comment Tuesday when contacted by The Bee.
“Barnes, 43, was in his third season as a studio analyst at NBC Sports California after joining the Kings broadcast team in 2021. The change comes weeks after Barnes was seen yelling at officials and confronting a student play-by-play announcer at his sons’ high school basketball game in Los Angeles.”
The decision shouldn’t hurt his pockets, though. He still runs the very successful ‘All The Smoke’ podcast alongside Stephen Jackson while he made over $35 million playing in the NBA.
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