CHELSEA — NBA stars Matt Barnes and DeMarcus Cousins are being sued over claims they attacked a man inside a Chelsea nightclub after Barnes allegedly choked the woman he was with and knocked her unconscious.
The Sacramento Kings players were in the VIP section at Avenue nightclub, 116 10th Ave. near West 17th Street, with some friends around 3 a.m. on Dec. 5 when a commotion broke out within their group, says the suit filed in New York federal court.
Not long after, Barnes approached Jasmine Besiso, 26, who was in the VIP section with a man named Myrone Powell, grabbed her by the neck and started choking her, the suit claims.
When Powell tried to stop Barnes, Cousins punched him in the face, the suit notes.
After Barnes let Besiso go, he elbowed her in the face — knocking her unconscious — and he and Cousins knocked Powell to the ground and started punching and kicking his head, torso and lower body, according to the claim.
Video footage taken before the players fled the scene captured them “boasting” about the attack, the suit adds.
Besiso and Powell, who are seeking unspecified damages and a trial by jury, said they received treatment for “severe personal injuries” at Lenox Hill Hospital.
A statement released by the law firm representing Besiso and Powell on Thursday called the attacks “vicious and unprovoked,” and said the couple was “enjoying a night out with their friends” when the incident took place.
Barnes, however, told TMZ Besiso slapped him in the face after he accidentally bumped into her, and claimed one of her friends choked him during the ensuing brawl.
The suit doesn’t say whether Besiso and Powell had any interactions with the players prior to the attack.
Barnes and Cousins’ attorney Alex Spiro — who maintained Barnes’ innocence after news broke that the player was wanted for questioning by police — declined to comment Thursday.
