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Men are really out here being men.
In October of 2015, Matt Barnes allegedly drove to “beat the s—t” out of his former teammate, Derek Fisher.
Why did this grown man get in his car to drive to another house to fight another grown man? Well, while FaceTiming one of his twin boys, Barnes discovered that Fisher was at the house of his estranged wife.
I’d like to clear up some Internet rumors about this story: Barnes did not drive 95 miles from training camp to fight Fisher. Maybe 15, but certainly not 95. This is not some Lucy In The Sky With Matt Barnes situation—even though I really wish it had been.
Barnes really wants to make it clear that he did not drive 95 miles. His words:
“I can't believe people think I was some maniac driving 95 miles and listening to Tupac to go beat somebody up.”
Whatever you say.
As legend has it, Barnes was upset that Fisher was romantically involved with this ex, former Basketball Wives LA star Gloria Govan.
Court records show that Barnes filed for divorce from Govan in January of 2015. Sir, you were the one who didn’t want this relationship!!! Let her live her life!!!
To make things even messier, Fisher filed for divorce from his wife of 10 years, Candace Fisher.
Allegedly, she was “blindsided” by the news and discovered that Fisher had secretly moved his stuff out of the apartment they shared at the time.
Okay—but like who are these two grown fools? Let’s discuss.
The History
Barnes and Fisher were teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers for two seasons. I feel like two years as teammates means they were like first or second-tier friends. Sort of like a work friend who you talk about getting drinks with, but never do.
According to ESPN, the two were actually “very close”, but like okay sure.
For most of his career, Fisher played for the Lakers. Barnes hopped around a bunch. I don’t know why, but I don’t feel like it’s relevant to this pointless story.
Fisher retired from the NBA at the end of the 2013-2014 season and took his talents to Dancing With The Stars! Currently, he’s the head coach and general manager for the Los Angeles Sparks WNBA team. We love to see it!
Barnes retired from the NBA in 2017—and announced the news with a mirror selfie and a caption that looks like my mom trying to use voice to text:
“You telling me I can dress like this for business meetings & make more money off the court than I made ON?? & spend more time with my kids??!!Ha... MEEEEE the one that wasn’t suppose to be shit & ended up making it!! Let’s Do it!
Love me or HATE ME, I DID IT MY WAY!! 🖕🏽🖕🏽🖕🏽haaa”
Barnes seems to be thriving in his business casual attire. Apparently he’s doing something in cannabis and has a podcast on Showtime??? Idk. Good for him.
A Hot Mess
While the fight was messy, the drama post-fight was even messier. After the fight heard round the world, Barnes and Fisher continued to do what men like to do: Act like fools.
At one point, Barnes tried to shoot his shot with Rihanna to which Rihanna replied: “#shesneverevenmetyou.”
In a truly iconic rant in 2016, Barnes shared a list of all of the people who wronged him and called 2015 “the worst year of his life”.
Oh, Barnes, just you wait.
In the now-deleted Instagram post, Barnes called Fisher a “snitch” and a “snake.” Don’t worry, I have the receipts and am sharing a truly incredible excerpt for your viewing pleasure.
The messiness doesn’t stop there. According to The Blast, Barnes sued Govan, accusing her of allegedly embezzling $300k from him during their marriage.
Govan counter-sued Barnes, accusing him of defamation claiming he falsely accused her of stealing from him and blocking his visitation from their sons.
There’s more: Barnes posted a seemingly sweet Instagram post on Govan’s birthday, signaling that maybe they were on friendly terms. They obviously weren’t, as Govan commented saying that Barnes loves a “frivolous lawsuit”.
Oof.
There’s even more drama, but I’ll spare you the details. You can read more of the same here.
In the middle of all of this Fisher and Govan got engaged! Good! For! Them!
Of course, Barnes had to comment:
"You guys want this to be an issue, it’s not! I’ve known about this for a few weeks & I am all for it..My kids matter to me at this point, that’s it!"
Is this progress? Let’s hope so.
In the end, no one is a winner here. Barnes has a new girlfriend.
And Fisher isn’t concerned with what anyone thinks anymore:
“I’m not concerned about what people think about who I’m dating, who I love, who I’m engaged to. That’s not their life, that’s mine.”
Regardless, both parties seem to be doing fine? I think?
As Barnes once said in that Regina George-esque rant in 2015, “This is for all of you who had a F@#%ed up year.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Other Pointless Gossip
Someone please transcribe Draymond Green’s monologue and turn it into a Shakespeare soliloquy.
What happened here.
The Dairy-Free Milk Alternatives That You Can Get At Coffee Shops In Brooklyn While You Are Running Late For An L Train That Probably Won’t Show Up Anyways are back.
Zillow Listing Of The Week
Recently engaged NBA star, Kevin Love, wanted a mix of “Tribeca and the American West” in his 3-bedroom apartment he recently purchased. Whatever that means.
Other Sports Stuff
Spring training is back. And so are close-up shots of ankles that no one asked for.
Absolutely not.
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