© Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports Bradley Beal.
Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal addressed March’s postgame fan altercation that prompted a police investigation at his end-of-season media availability.
A complaint was issued on March 22, approximately 24 hours following the Wizards’ road loss against the Orlando Magic. According to reports, the altercation started when Beal was “walking down a tunnel” to the team’s locker room at Amway Center.
Per ESPN, two fans were together and one of them yelled at the three-time All-Star “You made me lose $1,300, you f***.”
According to a police report obtained by ESPN, Beal then retaliated by walking “toward a friend of the man who made the comment and swatted his right hand toward him, knocking the man’s hat off and contacting the left side of his head.”
Per a TMZ Sports report, Beal and the two men reportedly “jawed back and forth” for “about 50 seconds,” with Beal calling the fans’ comments “disrespectful” and replying “Keep it a buck. … I don’t give a f*** about none of your bets or your parlays, bro. That ain’t why I play the game.”
“Nobody wants to lose money. I get it. If you keep it about sports, I’m all for it,” Beal said on Monday. “But I think it’s when people start getting personal, talking about your family, talking about your character, your integrity towards the game. I think all of that, we can save it. We can really keep those comments to ourselves.”
The 29-year-old missed the final 10 games of the season with a reported knee injury following the incident, as Washington fell out of the playoff race.
Beal signed a five-year, $251 million max contract with the team in July 2022 and averaged 23.2 points, 5.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game across 50 contests this season while posting a career-high 50.6% shooting percentage.
“I understand. I go to casinos, I gamble, I understand that. But I also understand it’s probably a 99% chance I’m going to lose,” he said. “I’m not sitting here about to get angry at the dealer or angry at everybody else.”
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