Smush Parker did not punch a 16-year-old high school basketball player in the face during a pickup game recently. At least, that's his story and he's sticking to it.
Early yesterday, Page Six reported that the former NBA player was involved in an altercation with Wolfgang Novogratz—the 16-year-old son of HGTV stars Robertand Cortney Novogratz—recently that ended with Parker slugging the kid in the face. The report said that Parker became upset after Novogratz scored two straight baskets on him during a pickup game in New York City and that he turned to violence to settle the score. But Parker's manager James Hunt just spoke with TMZ Sports and revealed that that isn't how things went down.
"Smush did not punch him in the face," Hunt said. "It wasn't no assault or anything like that. It was a hard foul. He didn't hit anybody."
Hunt also revealed that Parker believes Novogratz's parents are using the incident to try and drum up interest in their son's skills on the court.
"The kid's father is trying to use Smush's name as a stepping stone to promote his son to be recruited by these high-level Division I colleges," Hunt said.
At the moment, Parker hasn't reached out to Novogratz to apologize for the incident or anything. But according to Hunt, "those things will definitely take place if need be."
It seems like apologizing and moving on would probably be the best thing for everyone involved right now. Make the call, Smush.
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[via TMZ Sports]
