Houston Rockets guard Sterling Brown was assaulted outside a Miami strip club earlier this month and police bodycam footage shows him bloodied after the incident.
In the video obtained by TMZ, Brown, 26, is seen pressing his shirt to a head wound to stop the bleeding, while covered in blood down to his waist. According to The Athletic, the NBA star was hit in the head with a bottle on April 18 when he accidentally entered the wrong sprinter van after leaving the Booby Trap on the River, according to the police report. Brown reportedly got into an altercation with the occupants, who assaulted him and “roughed up” his teammate Kevin Porter Jr. when he intervened to defend Brown.
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The police bodycam video shows Brown clearly annoyed as the officers try to question him about the incident. He also appears to be limping. The officer who responded to the call about a fight noted in his report that Brown “kept insisting he did not want to provide his information, he only wanted rescue to take him to the hospital.” Porter Jr. also refused to cooperate and was “argumentative” with the police. Watch the aftermath of the assault via the clip below.
“Upon attempting to assist both males, and gather information as to what occurred, both males became belligerent and refused to cooperate. Several attempts were made to gather information from (from Brown), who kept insisting he did not want to provide his information, he only wanted rescue to take him to the hospital,” the police incident report said.
Brown was transported to the emergency room at Jackson Memorial Hospital where he received multiple stitches for his facial injuries before he was released the following morning, sources told The Athletic. The NBA star has a”hazy memory” of what transpired that night and remains in a “great deal” of pain, according to the report.
The Rockets acknowledged the incident in a statement saying Brown suffered facial lacerations after being violently assaulted. Prior to the incident, he was sidelined due to knee issues. Brown has not played since the attack.
“Last night, Sterling Brown was the victim of an assault. He had no prior knowledge of or interaction with the assailants,” the statement read. “He suffered facial lacerations but will make a full recovery. Sterling is not playing tonight because of his prior knee injury.”
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As reported by the New York Post, Rockets head coach, Stephen Silas, said on April 21, “Sterling is here in Houston and recovering.”
The league’s investigation into the assault is officially closed. According to The New York Times’ Marc Stein, Brown will not be fined over the incident.
“The league’s investigation into the Houston Rockets’ stay in Miami is closed, I’m told, unless new information surfaces to merit reopening it,” Stein wrote on Twitter.
Porter Jr. was fined $50,000 for violating the league’s health and safety protocols, which prohibit players from attending “indoor social gatherings of 15 or more people or entering bars, lounges, clubs or similar establishments.”
Brown has not addressed the incident publicly. No arrests have been made.
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