JR Smith beats up a man he alleges broke a window on his truck
In a video posted to TMZ on Sunday, NBA star JR Smith said he beat up a man who allegedly broke a window on his truck while it sat parked on a residential street in Los Angeles.
TMZ posted footage of the alleged incident, which reportedly shows Smith beating up the man near his truck before Smith’s friends step in to pull him away. Smith, 34, is seen kicking and punching the unidentified man several times before he runs away.
The incident happened in the Fairfax district, a short distance from where demonstrators were gathering to protest the death of George Floyd.
In the wake of George Floyd’s death, NBA players and coaches are speaking out once again about racial injustice and what must change.
“This is a residential area. There wasn’t any stores over here,” Smith said in the video. “I chased him down and whooped his ass. This ain’t no hate crime. I ain’t got no problem with anybody. ... He didn’t know whose window he broke and he got his ass whooped.”
Smith, who played 15 seasons in the NBA, didn’t play this season after going unsigned. The altercation comes one day after Smith was seen riding bicycles in L.A. with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Jordan Clarkson and sports agent Rich Paul.
The following day, Smith said Monday on the “Pat McAfee Show” that he regrets his actions.
“It was just a random act of stupidness, and I give him that,” Smith said of the alleged vandal, according to TMZ. “But, that ass whooping was a random act of stupidness on my behalf.”
He added: “I’m still disappointed with myself.”
“For me, I’m 34 years old. I have 4 little girls at home. I don’t want that image, regardless of the fact whether it was right or wrong, I don’t want them to have that image of their dad being capable of doing that, and doing something like that.”
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