Fan sues Wizards, Bradley Beal for over $50K; alleges assault in betting interaction
The Washington Wizards and star Bradley Beal are being sued by a fan over an incident that occurred after the team's 122-112 loss to the Orlando Magic on March 21.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday by plaintiff Kyler Briffa of Orange County in Florida's Ninth Circuit Court. According to the complaint, Briffa is asking for damages exceeding $50,000 for alleged battery, assault and negligence.
The filing alleges that Beal, on his way to the locker room at Amway Center in Orlando, heard a remark about losing a bet that did not come from Briffa. He allegedly turned around and hit Briffa's hat from his head, sending it "flying 5-6 feet behind him."
According to the filing, Beal "continued to aggravate the situation by threatening, intimidating and humiliating Plaintiff," even after learning Briffa did not make the comment.
The suit alleges Beal told Briffa, "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?"
According to the filing, Beal continued until a Wizards staff member separated him from the Briffa.
The Wizards are included in the filing because the team allegedly had no security present. The lawsuit claims the altercation was allegedly "foreseeable" by the team due to Beal's "history of aggressive conduct which resulted in fines and ejectment from [Wizards'] basketball games."
A day after the incident, a complaint was filed to the Orlando Police Department and Beal was reportedly being investigated. According to the police report, Briffa's friend said, "You made me lose $1,300, you f***."
The police report mentions Beal allegedly hitting Briffa on the side of his head. During that argument, he also allegedly said that playing basketball is his job and he "takes it seriously."
Beal averaged 23.2 points and 5.4 assists in 50 games this season. After the team finished two spots ahead of last place in the Eastern Conference, he spoke about where the team "failed."
"We have to be better. I have to be better. Everybody has to develop, get better. I don’t think we’re good enough right now,” he said in a postseason news conference.
He also addressed the incident he and the Wizards are now being sued over.
"Nobody wants to lose money. I get it. If you keep it about sports, I'm all for it," he told reporters on April 10. "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."
The Capital One Arena in Washington, home to the Wizards, was the first NBA venue to open a sports book inside the stadium. Beal noted that he has noticed more betting-related vitriol from fans recently.
"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. "I'm not sitting here about to get angry at the dealer or angry at everybody else."
Just finishing his 11th season in the league, Beal was drafted No. 3 overall by Washington in 2012. Now 29 years old, he will enter the second year of a five-year, $251 million supermax deal with the team this past fall.
