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Read the press release here.

NBA Player Matt Barnes Choked Woman in Chelsea Nightclub, Police Say

By Kathleen Culliton | December 5, 2016 2:16pm
 Sacramento Kings forward Matt Barnes is accused of choking a woman inside Avenue nightclub in Chelsea early Monday morning. 
Sacramento Kings forward Matt Barnes is accused of choking a woman inside Avenue nightclub in Chelsea early Monday morning. 
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Patrick McMullan

CHELSEA — NBA player Matt Barnes is wanted for questioning by the NYPD after choking a woman inside a Chelsea nightclub, police said.

Barnes, 36, a forward for the Sacramento Kings, choked a woman sitting on a table at Avenue nightclub on 10th Avenue and West 17th Street shortly after midnight on Monday, police said.

He then punched the man and woman who tried to stop him and fled the nightclub, police said.

Barnes told TMZ that the woman had slapped him after he accidentally “butt-bumped” her and that he was then attacked and choked by her friends.

"There's always two sides to a story," Barnes wrote on Instagram. "Don't believe everything you read."

 

A photo posted by matt_barnes9 (@matt_barnes9) on

Barnes’ attorney also attested to his client’s innocence in a statement.

“We do not believe a crime was committed,” Alex Spiro wrote in an email to DNAinfo. “We are cooperating with law enforcement and are hopeful no charges will be pressed.”

Barnes was in town with the Sacramento Kings for a game against the Knicks Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.