A fan is suing Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards for damages exceeding $50,000 over an incident where Beal is accused of hitting the fan following a loss last month to the Orlando Magic in Florida.
Florida resident Kyle Briffa filed the lawsuit on allegations of battery and assault against Beal in civil court Tuesday, according to a court filing obtained by ESPN.
Beal was walking off the court after a 122-112 loss to the Magic on March 21 when a fan yelled “You f—ed me [out of] $1,300, you f—!,” according to a police report taken at the time.
The Wizards star went to address the fan, who is Briffa’s friend, and then is accused of striking the side of Briffa’s head and knocking his hat off.
According to the lawsuit, Beal then said “When you disrespect me, I’m going to press you about it. Do you think this is a joke, do you think this is a joke, do you think this is a joke, do you think this is a joke … because when I press you about it, what are we doing? What are we doing? What are we doing?”
The fan who originally yelled apologized, but police determined that there was probable cause to charge Beal with simple battery over the incident. The complaint was filed shortly after.
A spokesperson for the state’s attorney’s office confirmed to ESPN that there is pending civil litigation over the incident but didn’t share whether prosecutors are looking into the matter independently.
“Nobody wants to lose money. I get it. If you keep it about sports, I’m all for it. But I think it’s when people start getting personal, talking about your family, talking about your character, your integrity towards the game. I think all of that, we can save it. We can really keep those comments to ourselves,” Beal said when speaking about the incident during a postseason news conference last week.
The lawsuit claims Briffa “suffered emotional distress, mental anguish, fear and humiliation, pain and suffering and loss of capacity of enjoyment of life.”
The Wizards were accused of negligence in the suit. The team declined comment to the Associated Press on Wednesday night.
This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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