Matt Barnes Sued For Spitting On Fiancée's Ex At 49ers Game
By Kristin Myers on January 27, 2023 at 4:19 PM EST
Updated on January 27, 2023 at 4:26 PM EST
NBA star Matt Barnes is being sued by his fiancé's ex-husband, David Patterson, after Barnes allegedly spit on Patterson during a heated altercation at an NFL playoff game last Sunday.
According to court documents obtained by The Blast, the couple is suing the 42-year-old former athlete for battery, assault, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Matt Barnes Is Being Sued For Spitting On Fiancée's Ex At 49ers Game
According to new court documents obtained by The Blast, Patterson alleges that he was “wrongfully, maliciously, and violently assaulted, battered, threatened and injured” by Barnes on January 22. It looks like the court documents falsely state that it happened on January 22, 2022, because the incident made headlines last Sunday.
In the documents, Patterson alleges that Barnes “intentionally spit” in his face with an “intent to harm and/or offend him.” As a result of the alleged spitting, Patterson says that he now “suffered and continues to suffer from injury, emotional distress, pain and suffering, embarrassment, and humiliation.”
Patterson Claims That He Has Suffered 'Mental And Emotional Pain' From The Spitting
The court documents even state that any “reasonable person in Patterson’s situation would have been offended by the non-consensual touching.” Due to Barnes’ conduct, Patterson alleges that he has “suffered mental and emotional pain, distress and discomfort, all to his detriment and damage in amounts not fully ascertained but within the jurisdiction of this court and subject to proof at the time of the trial.”
In other words, Patterson is looking for unspecified damages in this case and is hoping that a court will decide upon an appropriate number. The papers go on to say that “Patterson further alleges and maintains based on information and belief that Barnes undertook the actions set forth herein above willfully, despicably and wantonly, with malice and oppression and with conscious disregard to the rights of Patterson, and in doing the things herein alleged Barnes is guilty of oppression and malice.”
In Patterson’s perspective, he feels that Matt Barnes’ conduct “justifies the award of exemplary and punitive damages in any amount necessary and appropriate to punish Barnes and deter further misconduct.”
Shocking Text Messages Make A Troubled Situation Even More Complicated
If that wasn’t enough, it appears that this has just been building over time. The court documents also contain some pretty nasty text messages that go back and forth between Matt Barnes and Melisa Andino. One alleged text message states, “Melisa are your lips good for anything other than sucking d***? Control your man he’s losing it.”
In one group text message, Barnes allegedly called Patterson a “b****” and a “f***n clown.” Patterson also alleges that Barnes was looking for a fight, by telling him to “pull up” to his house, where he expected physical violence would ensue.
Patterson alleges that Barnes told him that he was “tired of your fake bully a**” and tried to drag Melisa into the conversation. Patterson claims that Barnes also said that he was poor and “did not have enough money to pay for anything.”
In his legal papers, Patterson provided a long list of alleged text messages where he claims that Barnes called him a variety of foul names in group messages.
Matt Barnes Alleges That Patterson Is The Aggressor
Matt Barnes made headlines over the past week for spitting on his fiancée’s ex during a heated exchange at the Cowboys vs. 49ers game that took place on Sunday, January 22, 2023. Footage of the alleged altercation made its way to TMZ, which happened around 3:40 PM just before the playoffs began at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
Two days after the incident, Matt Barnes stepped into a county court in Los Angeles to seek a temporary civil restraining order against Patterson. In the court documents, Barnes claimed that Patterson “hunted me down and aggressively confronted me.”
Barnes also says that, on the day in question, Patterson "shoved me, and I was forced to push him off of me." Although Patterson said that Barnes was threatening him in text messages he included in the court documents, in his restraining order, Barnes claimed, “I did not want the altercation to physically escalate further, and out of frustration with him seeking me out and his unrelenting repeated harassment I spit in his direction in disgust."