Matt Barnes: I was checking on my sons, not confronting Derek Fisher
Ramona Shelburne, ESPN Senior Writer
Memphis Grizzlies forward
Matt Barnes said Thursday he went to his ex-wife's home to check on his 6-year-old twin sons, and not to confront
New York Knicks coach Derek Fisher.
Barnes told ESPN that he was at his home in Marina del Ray around 10 p.m. Saturday night when he got a text from his son Carter that immediately concerned him.
"I'm like, first of all, why are you still up? It's like 10 o'clock at night?' " Barnes said. "So I text back, 'I love you and I miss you, too." Then I FaceTimed him. I'm just like, 'Hey, what's up buddy?'"
"Now, Carter is like the rambunctious one. He's always jumping off the walls. And when I saw his face, he was just sitting there and I knew something was wrong. I was like, 'What's wrong, Carter?' and he shook his head, 'No.' Then he lays his head down on the couch, puts a pillow in front of his face and says, 'Mommy's friend Derek is here.'
"This wasn't a phone call. We were on FaceTime. I could see him and the look on his face."
Matt Barnes said Thursday he went to his ex-wife's home last weekend to check on his 6-year-old twin sons, and not to confront New York Knicks coach Derek Fisher.
Barnes said he lives about 15 minutes away from his ex-wife. The family had traveled together from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles earlier in the day after Barnes completed training camp with the Grizzlies. Previous reports had indicated Barnes drove from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles to confront Fisher and his ex-wife.
"
I can't believe people think I was some maniac driving 95 miles and listening to Tupac to go beat somebody up," Barnes said. "No. I live 15 minutes away and I was going over to check on my kids because they seemed uncomfortable. That was my main reason for going over there."