Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal is being sued over the incident he had with some fans after a game in Orlando last month.
Beal was heading towards the tunnel at Amway Center after the Wizards’ loss to the Magic on March 21 when he was heckled by a few fans. A report claimed one of the men yelled, “You f***ed me [out of] $1,300, you f***,” which was a reference to a lost wager.
Beal allegedly responded by walking over to the group and knocking the hat off one of the fan’s heads.
That fan has identified himself in a new lawsuit as Kyler Briffa. In the suit, which was obtained by TMZ, Briffa claims he and a friend had courtside seats to the Wizards-Magic game and were allowed to go inside the tunnel following the game to interact with Wizards players. Briffa says his friend made the comment to Beal about the lost bet.
In response to the verbal jab, Briffa says Beal “stopped, turned around, walked back toward the unsuspecting [Briffa] and without a word, intentionally struck the side of [Briffa’s] head knocking his hat off of his head.” Briffa said he believed Beal was “attempting to provoke a physical altercation.”
Briffa claims in the lawsuit that he suffered emotional and physical distress from the incident. He is suing Beal for assault and the Wizards for negligence. Briffa is seeking more than $50,000 in damages.
Beal’s attorney, Dan Morgan, responded to the lawsuit in a statement to TMZ, calling it “frivolous litigation.” He said there will be no settlement between Beal and the accuser.
“No charges have been filed and he is now trying to change the narrative,” Morgan said. “We will make sure the standard is clear — you can’t harass people, call them racial slurs, talk about their family, insult their character … and then turn around a sue them on top of that.”
The incident was investigated by police, but no charges have been filed.
Beal averaged 23.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game this season. The Wizards finished 35-47 and did not make the playoffs.
