Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith is being accused of choking a teenager in NY City outside of a Chelsea pizza shop, according to the NY Daily News. Brown claims he yelled at Smith before getting choked out in front of the really delicious Artichoke Basille’s Pizza.
Advertisement
The NY Daily News reports 19-year-old Justin Brown alleges LeBron James’ current runningmate griped his hands around his neck after he chided him about being dealt last season by Phil Jackson and the Knicks.
“We are aware of the story and have spoken to J.R. about it”, Cavs general manager David Griffin told ESPN.
The Cavs said Smith’s status for Saturday’s home game against the Atlanta Hawks would not be affected. When Smith declined, the teen shouted, “That’s why you got kicked out of NY”. Smith’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, told the paper that the allegation against his client is “completely false”.
Advertisement
A police report was not filed until three days following the incident, although police reportedly responded to the scene when it occurred. Even if the high school kids were egging Smith on it is this type of decision making that had the Knicks wary of signing him to a long term deal. When contacted by cleveland.com, a detective said they would not provide a police report to reporters and to call back after shift change.
