Matt Barnes was caught on video using profanity and a homophobic slur during a July arrest, and he has apologized for his language.
Barnes was arrested on July 30 for an outstanding traffic warrant and for threatening an officer. The Clippers forward was released on $51,000 bail later that night, and now we have video that shows his alleged uncooperative behavior from that evening.
TMZ obtained and published video from the arrest, and it shows Barnes and his wife, Gloria Govan, appearing to give the officers a difficult time while resisting arrest.
The video shows an officer telling Govan, who was standing next to Barnes, to “turn around and put your hands behind your back.”
“For what?” she responds.
Govan continues to refuse to move away from her husband and complains that another officer wouldn’t tell them why Barnes was being arrested. She suggests the officers “pow-wow” and then let them know why the arrest is being made.
“And why don’t you ask [the] officer how he found Matt in the first place?” she asks one officer.
“Yeah, by f—ing stalking me, which is probably illegal,” Barnes chimes in.
The officer then explains to Govan that they have a warrant for Barnes’ arrest, and he tells her to step aside so that her husband can be handcuffed. She begins pushing the officer’s hands away as they attempt to move her away.
Barnes continues to move around as the officers attempt to handcuff him. At one point he slips his hand away to give car keys to Govan, which the officers appear to consider an act of resistance.
“I’m going to jail because you’re a f—ing fa–ot and you followed me,” Barnes angrily complains about one of the officers.
The Clippers forward then drops a few more f-bombs before he is led toward the police car, which is when the video cuts out.
It’s unclear what happened leading up to the point when the video begins, but TMZ previously reported that the officer whom Barnes accuses of stalking him knew that Barnes had an outstanding arrest warrant and waited two hours outside a restaurant before confronting him. TMZ also reported that Barnes’ arrest warrant was for failing to appear in court for driving on a suspended license.
Last week, Barnes, through his attorney, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of unlicensed driving and resisting arrest. He was sentenced to two years of probation, and ordered to complete 30 hours of community service and attend 13 counseling sessions with a private therapist.
Barnes issued an apology for his offensive language.
“I would like to apologize for the unfortunate language I used,” Barnes said, according to TMZ. “I know that certain words are extremely hurtful.
“I meant absolutely no disrespect to anyone. This comment, spoken in the heat of a difficult moment, does not accurately reflect my actual point of view.
“I hope that any and all offended parties can accept my sincerest apologies.”
