2nd foul called
NBA goon was choking gal before he pummeled us
THE COUPLE accusing Sacramento Kings forward Matt Barnes of roughing them up in a chic Chelsea nightclub said he was choking another woman before the alleged attack, according to their lawyer.
Jasmine Besiso, 26, and Myrone Powell alleged in a lawsuit Wednesday that Barnes and his teammate, DeMarcus Cousins, assaulted them at Avenue nightclub, on 10th Ave. and West 17th St., around 3 a.m. on Sunday.
“I’m outraged and disgusted by what happened to me,” said Besiso, a hairdresser, at a press conference.
Powell, a video director and photographer, echoed Besiso’s words. “I am very disgusted and appalled that these men were gloating and slapping high-fives after assaulting me,” said Powell, 35, referring to video that surfaced shortly after the incident.
Their lawyer, Michael Lamonsoff, said both Besiso and Powell now suffer from severe neck damage. Powell has two black eyes and can’t sleep because his neck is so injured, Lamonsoff also said.
Besiso’s skull might be fractured — and she may have leaking spinal fluid, Lamonsoff claims.
The couple was in the club’s VIP section when Barnes allegedly got into an argument at a nearby table and choked a woman, Lamonsoff said. No other details were given about that incident.
When Besiso saw the fight, she got up to leave, Lamonsoff said.
At that point, the 6-feet-7, 226-pound Barnes allegedly grabbed the 5-feet-5 Besiso by the neck and started choking her. When Powell tried to intervene, the 6-feet-11, 300-pound Cousins punched him, Lamonsoff said.
Barnes, 36, and Cousins, 26, were gone by the time cops arrived, according to the complaint. “There’s always two sides to a story,” Barnes wrote on Instagram. “The side the media consistently tries to paint of me ... And what actually happened!”
Barnes and Cousins’ lawyer declined to comment.
Barnes in 2015 got into a fight with former Knicks coach Derek Fisher over his relationship with Barnes’ estranged wife, Gloria Govan.