Fan suing Wizards' Bradley Beal over alleged postgame incident
Wizards guard Bradley Beal is being sued by a fan who claims the NBA star struck the side of his head with his hand and knocked his hat off after a March game at Orlando.
Kyler Briffa filed the lawsuit this week in circuit court in Orange County, Florida. Briffa claims he and a friend were at the March 21 game, in which the Magic beat the Wizards 122-112. The suit says fans with courtside seats were allowed to enter the team tunnel as players left the court, and that after Beal walked past, Briffa's friend made a comment about losing a bet on the game.
The suit claims Beal walked back toward Briffa and struck the side of his head, knocking his hat off.
Briffa says he told Beal he didn't make the comment, and that the friend took responsibility and apologized, but that Beal continued the confrontation with Briffa, saying: "When you disrespect me, I’m going to press you about it. Do you think this is a joke, do you think this is a joke, do you think this is a joke, do you think this is a joke ... because when I press you about it, what are we doing? What are we doing? What are we doing?"
The lawsuit claims Briffa "suffered emotional distress, mental anguish, fear and humiliation, pain and suffering and loss of capacity of enjoyment of life."
The Wizards were also accused of negligence in the suit, which seeks damages exceeding $50,000. The team declined comment Wednesday night.
The alleged incident involving Beal first became news in late March, when a police case report said probable cause existed to charge Beal with simple battery. The report said the case would be filed with the local State Attorney’s Office.
According to the police report, a fan swore at Beal and accused him of causing the fan to lose $1,300 from a bet. At some point, Beal swatted a hat off the head of the heckler’s friend, police said, allegedly hitting the friend’s head.
Beal said last week he's noticed more nastiness related to sports gambling in the past few years.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
Read more from FOX Sports:
- NBA playoff dispatches: Young Kings showing mettle; Harden struggles in win
- NBA playoff dispatches: Suns face early concerns; Nuggets blast Wolves
- Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo out of Game 1 with lower-back injury
- Anthony Davis is once again Lakers' key to NBA Finals hopes
- Miami's Tyler Herro suffers broken hand; expected to miss multiple weeks
- 2023 NFL mock draft: Football writers make all 31 first-round picks
- 2023 USFL odds: Title lines for every team; Stallions, Generals co-favorites
- Four of South Carolina's five 'Freshies' entering 2023 WNBA Draft
- NASCAR takeaways: Christopher Bell conquers Bristol dirt for first 2023 win