You may remember earlier a 19-year-old man alleged that Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith physically assaulted him outside a New York night club (the same one Thabo Sefolosha was injured by police outside of, incidentally). No charges were filed from the incident. Now, however, ESPN reports that the alleged victim in that case is suing Smith for $2.5 million.
Smith, however, had nothing to say on the matter, and his lawyer aggressively denied any wrongdoing by his client.
"No, I ain't got no comment on that," Smith said. "It is what it is. So, we'll just see what happens."
Smith said he appreciated how the Cavs have supported him through the ordeal.
"I mean, the organization has been great since I got here," he said. "Whether it was that or anything else, they've been unbelievable, so I'm grateful for that."
Smith was not arrested for the incident, and the Manhattan District Attorney declined to file charges in January after a two-month investigation. There is a video of the incident captured on a security camera, sources said.
"If they have the audacity to file a frivolous claim against J.R., we will counterclaim for defamation and defend the suit aggressively," said Alex Spiro, Smith's attorney. "This was a cash grab from the start."
Source: J.R. Smith of Cleveland Cavaliers sued for $2.5 million.
The amount of $2.5 million doesn't seem like a lot of money when you're talking about suing an NBA player, but that might be contextual based on the severity of the incident. It certainly seems like Smith intends to fight -- no pun intended -- on this matter. We'll see if the suit goes anywhere, is dropped or eventually settled.
