Lawsuit: NBA players teamed up in couple’s nightclub assault
NEW YORK — A lawyer for a couple who claim Sacramento Kings players Matt Barnes and DeMarcus Cousins assaulted them at a nightclub said Thursday they’ll rely on videotapes, medical reports and the testimony of witnesses to prove they were attacked.
The lawyer, Michael S. Lamonsoff, spoke at a news conference as the couple, Jasmine Besiso and Myrone Powell, held hands nearby a day after their federal lawsuit alleged Barnes choked and knocked Besiso unconscious before both players attacked Powell with punches and kicks inside a Manhattan nightclub on Monday.
Lamonsoff said Barnes attacked Besiso, a hairstylist, after trying to choke another woman earlier in the night. He said he hopes the other woman comes forward to authorities. He said Besiso and Powell didn’t know the players before the altercation.
He said the players were “using their celebrity status and vast resources to distort the truth.”