UPDATE 6:45 p.m.: Barnes was indeed fined $50,000 by the NBA "for directing inappropriate language at a fan," the league announced on Friday. This was $25,000 more than Bulls center Joakim Noah was fined "for pushing a fan at halftime." Both punishments were announced at the same time.
UPDATE 4:02 p.m.: Barnes spoke with reporters Friday before Game 3 and said that "she said something, I said something back" and that the situation has been resolved. He also said coach Doc Rivers gave him a "verbal tongue lashing" over the incident. Barnes also denies what was reported as his alleged comments (see the link below). We'll see if there are any more repercussions from the incident. Here's Barnes from shootaround:
Los Angeles Clippers star Matt Barnes doesn't exactly play nice. The guy is constantly involved in fights, gets fined all the time for his comments about officials or his behavior on court, and generally is a bit of a rabble-rouser.
Against the Rockets, the narrative that's coming out, before Barnes has responded at least, is that he may have gone a little far.
Word surfaced online after the Rockets' Game 2 win that Barnes had made some pretty disgusting comments to a woman seated court-side... James Harden's mother. (NSFW.) The next day, TMZ got a little more detailed story on it.
What we do know ... Matt's comment really pissed off one of Monja's other sons -- who was sitting next to her during the game and heard it ... and confronted Barnes after the final buzzer. Willis tells us ... "My older son walked over to him and told him to apologize ... and he did."Monja says, "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.""I accept his apology."
Source: James Harden's Mom -- Matt Barnes Apologized To Me ... For In-Game Insult | TMZ.com.
Meanwhile, the Rockets aren't taking this lightly, and informed the league about his comments. From ESPN:
A source told ESPN that the Rockets informed the NBA about Barnes' verbal exchanges with fans in both games of the series. The Rockets tied the series Wednesday at 1-1 with a 115-109 win.
"I heard about some of that stuff," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said Thursday afternoon. "You don't say anything to [the mother]. If you got something to say, say it to the guy you're playing against. I never thought of talking bad to Magic [Johnson's] mother. It's hard enough talking trash to Magic."
League officials did not comment. Barnes and Harden were not available for comment.
"We all talk smack," McHale said. "But my goodness, that thought never even crossed your mind. I honestly don't even know what happened; I wasn't there. I didn't get a chance to talk to James' mother about it or anything. From what I heard, that's just not right.
Source: Matt Barnes of Los Angeles Clippers made profane remark to James Harden's mother.
Couple of problems, here.
1. So if the TMZ story is accurate -- and Barnes deserves a chance to comment for himself -- Barnes was sorry after he found out it was a player's mother, and says he wouldn't want to say it to anyone's mother? Well, he said it to a woman, and the odds are not terrible that no matter who it was, that woman was a mother. Oh, and also, whether it's a mother or not, no woman should be spoken to like that. Barnes may have his side of the story in regards to however she heckled him, and that behavior should be responded to independently. But this is pretty simple: Don't say stuff like that to women, or to fans, or to anyone, when you're in an NBA uniform. This isn't rocket science, no pun intended.
2. Hard to blame the Rockets for telling the league about it, but it does seem like they want to exacerbate the situation.
3. The league is pretty much going to have to fine him, after their precedent set with previous fines for Kobe Bryant and Joakim Noah in similar situations in regards to homosexual slurs. There's just no way of getting around that particular standard.
4. The next contract Barnes signs needs to have a bonus allotment for fines at this point.
