Matt Barnes On Brawl w/ Derek Fisher – There’s An Unspoken Teammate Rule, You Don’t Mess /w Someone’s Wife

Matt Barnes On Brawl w/ Derek Fisher – There’s An Unspoken Teammate Rule, You Don’t Mess /w Someone’s Wife

Retired NBA player Matt Barnes dropped by The Wendy Williams Show to share how he and his ex-wife Gloria Govan are co-parenting their children, and exactly what happened between him and ex-teammate Derek Fisher. He also dished on his new life after his NBA retirement and the new report he produced on the multiple benefits of using marijuana. Check out a few excerpts.

Gloria & Matt circa 2014

On his relation with ex-wife Gloria and raising their twin sons:

We’re co-parents you know; I guess at this point that’s all you can ask. I think both of our goals are to provide the best upbringing in childhood for our kids and we can and see what happens from there. At the end of the day my main concern is my kid’s happiness.

Derek Fisher, Gloria Govan

The fight between him and ex-teammate Derek Fisher:

Basically what it was you know I divorced her; [I] figure she’s gonna move on; that’s what happens when you divorce someone and the ultimate goal is to be happy. I found out they hooked up through my kids and I was mad.

When asked why he got upset at the time:

We’re former teammates though you know. I kind of think there’s an unspoken you know you guys go to war with each other- mean if it’s a girlfriend or something like that’s fair game but you kind of think a wife and kids would be off limits to a teammate but it is what it is from that standpoint.

What happened the night of the very public fight they had and if the children are used to Derek being around:

He’s lucky it wasn’t just them but she actually had a group of friends over. They were having a game night or a dinner or something — the kids were upstairs asleep by the time I got there and it just happened. It was like I said I think it’s kind of like an unspoken man rule-teammate rule- that you don’t mess with someone’s wife by instinct. My whole focus really was that you’re staying in my house and being around my kids and you didn’t tell me that. That was my major problem and he understood once we discussed it and spoke about it.

Life after the NBA and his retirement ventures:

I was fortunate enough to play fifteen years. I mean mostly being in LA and I knew that life after basketball was gonna be exciting. You know fortunately through that basketball wives show, I learned the backside of television and realized that I wanted to produce and direct so like I said my transition was smooth. We just did that bleacher report 420 piece and it’s trying to erase the stigma that marijuana is a horrible gateway problem.

By Jeanine Cruz