Bradley Beal talks fan incident over gambling in Orlando: ‘Nobody wants to lose money’
Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal opened up about the incident with a pair of fans last month that prompted a police investigation in Orlando, Florida.
Beal was walking into the tunnel toward the locker room following their loss to the Magic last month when a man allegedly confronted Beal about an apparent bet he had made, and lost, on the game.
"Nobody wants to lose money. I get it. If you keep it about sports, I'm all for it," Beal said, via ESPN. "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."
According to a police report, one of the men in question yelled at Beal, “You made me lose $1,300, you f***.” Beal then reportedly turned around, swatted at the man and hit him in the head, which knocked his hat to the floor. Beal and the two men then reportedly got into an argument.
A police report was filed the next day after one of the men told police he wanted to file charges against Beal. It’s unclear what the bet he placed on the game was. One of the men can allegedly be heard apologizing to Beal on camera, though official security footage from the Amway Center didn’t show the actual physical altercation.
"I understand. I go to casinos, I gamble, I understand that. But I also understand it's probably a 99% chance I'm going to lose," Beal said Monday. "I'm not sitting here about to get angry at the dealer or angry at everybody else."
Beal: ‘I’m definitely frustrated’ with Wizards struggles
Beal was speaking Monday, just one day after the Wizards’ season officially ended with a loss to the Houston Rockets. The Wizards went 35-47 and missed the playoffs for a second straight year.
Beal averaged 23.2 points and 5.4 assists in 50 games this season, his 11th in the league. Washington first drafted Beal with the No. 3 overall pick in 2012. The 29-year-old will enter the second year of a five-year, $251 million deal with the franchise this fall.
"I'm definitely frustrated," he said, via ESPN. "I'm also at peace with where I am and who we are and what we need to do to be better. There's nothing I can do. I can't control it, and I'm not going to sit here and cuss everybody out. We know where we failed and how we got to get better. We have to do so."
