Matt Barnes Receives Sentence After Pleading Guilty To Disorderly Conduct For Nightclub Brawl

Matt Barnes received his sentence after he pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a brawl with a woman and her boyfriend at a New York City nightclub last December.

TMZ Sports reported that the Golden State Warriors small forward was in Manhattan Criminal Court Tuesday and entered a guilty plea to disorderly conduct. Barnes reached a deal with prosecutors and was sentenced to 10 days of community service in exchange for the plea. Under the terms of the agreement, he will complete the service in his home state of California.

Barnes, who did not speak to reporters as he left the courthouse, was originally charged with third-degree assault and obstruction of breathing for the December 5 melee. The New York Daily News noted that the veteran basketball player attended the Avenue club in Chelsea with his former Sacramento Kings teammate DeMarcus Cousins when the altercation began. Barnes was accused of strangling a woman named Jasmine Besiso and then allegedly assaulting and knocking down her boyfriend, Myrone Powell, when he came to her aid. However, Barnes’ attorney, Alex Spiro, argued that the couple was “intoxicated, using substances and that they were the initial aggressors.”

Because Besiso and Powell are suing Barnes in civil court, his legal woes are not over yet. The couple also named Cousins in their civil suit.

This is not the first time Barnes made headlines for incidents off the court. In 2015, he infamously drove 95 miles to beat up Derek Fisher when he found out the former New York Knicks head coach was at the home of his estranged wife, Basketball Wives star Gloria Govan and their two children. A fight broke out between the two men and the police were called, but no charges were ever filed. Prior to that, Barnes was arrested in 2010 for suspicion of domestic violence against Govan, but the charge was later dropped.

The 37-year-old has had stints with several teams in the league during his career including with the Kings, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Memphis Grizzles, and the Orlando Magic. In March, he signed with the Warriors after Kevin Durant got injured. He started a handful of games in the regular season and had a limited role off the bench in the playoffs, helping the team win its second championship in three years. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent in July.

Barnes is due back in court in August to give an update on his community service.

[Featured image by Eric Risberg/AP Images]