NBA looking into Brown’s assault
Visit to club may violate protocols; incident took place in parking lot
NBA officials on Wednesday were still “gathering information” about the incident in which Rockets guard Sterling Brown was assaulted in Miami and had not ruled whether there would be any repercussions for potentially violating NBA and NBPA health and safety protocols, a league spokesman said.
A Miami-Dade Police Department report confirmed Brown was found injured after the police received an anonymous call about a fight in the parking lot of the Booby Trap On The River club in Miami at 6:30 a.m. Monday.
According the police report, Brown had lacerations throughout his body and requested to be taken to the hospital but was unwilling to provide additional information. The police report stated Brown and another man with him “became belligerent and refused to cooperate.”
The Athletic reported Wednesday that Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. was with Brown. Porter on Wednesday was placed in the league’s health and safety protocols and will be out until Sunday. Porter played against the Heat on Monday night.
An NBA spokesperson would not say whether Por
ter was placed in the protocols because of the league investigation into the incident but said it was still under review.
The league and players association protocols prohibit players from going to restaurants, clubs and bars. Fully vaccinated players may go to outdoor restaurants and members of fully vaccinated teams are permitted to go to indoor or outdoor restaurants.
Brown, according to the police report, was taken by Miami Dade Fire and Rescue to Jackson Hospital for treatment.
There were no witnesses to the incident, according to the police report. A person with knowledge of the incident said there was no fight or any altercation before Brown was struck from behind.
“He was assaulted and he has bumps and bruises and stuff like that,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. “Stuff like that usually gets a little bit worse before it gets better. I know our training staff and the doctors and everybody are being super attentive to him, and they are making sure he is recovering in the right way, making sure he is seeing the right people, making sure we are 100 percent supportive of everything he needs.”
Silas said he spoke with Brown on Tuesday but that Wednesday he was visiting doctors and resting.
“The main thing for me is that he knows we are 100 percent behind him and have his back and want him to get healthy soon, get back with his teammates,” Silas said.
Silas said he did not know if Brown was also in the health and safety protocols and whether he or teammates are permitted to see him.
Brown returned to Houston on Tuesday.
The Rockets on Monday released a statement: “Last night, Sterling Brown was the victim of an assault. He had no prior knowledge of or interaction with the assailants. He suffered facial lacerations but will make a full recovery.”
Silas spoke to his players Wednesday about the incident and other issues but said it was not very different from previous and frequent conversations.
“I’m always talking to my guys about stuff like that,” Silas said. “I stand in front of those guys every day. Today, we talked about a bunch of stuff. It wasn’t just the Sterling stuff. We definitely talked about that as a group over the last couple days. But we’ve talked about a lot, whether it’s basketball-related or not.
“They absolutely know where I stand when it comes to that sort of thing. It’s not just a one-time conversation that we have with this group. It’s consistent communication with the group.”
Brown, 26, has been out for four games because of a sore left knee and was listed out for Wednesday’s game against the Utah Jazz because of the injury. In his first season with the Rockets after signing as a free agent last offseason, he is averaging a career-high 8.2 points per game on a career-best 42.3 percent 3point shooting.
Brown was the victim of an incident in 2018 with the Milwaukee police in which he was tackled and tased in a confrontation over a parking violation. In November 2020, he settled a civil suit for $750,000 and an admission of guilt.
He had become among the NBA’s leaders in efforts calling for social justice, a role that included a November visit with Pope Francis in the Vatican as part of a delegation of players and NBPA executives.