LA Clipper star Blake Griffin is being investigated for assault in Las Vegas, as the LA Times reports that Griffin was at the Tao nightclub in the Venetian hotel on Saturday and a man is alleging that Griffin slapped him early Sunday morning and right now police are looking into the matter, with TMZ quoting the victim saying he was slapped in the face.
According to the LA Times and Bleacher Report, Griffin and the Clippers were in Las Vegas for a preseason game and allegedly afterwards at Tao, Griffin and the victim got into an altercation. The LA Times quoted Doc Rivers saying he "trusts Blake" about the matter and right now no charges have been filed. The Times reports that the NBA is currently looking into the investigation and they could take action later depending on the outcome of things.
ESPN.com reports that the situation allegedly happened with the victim claiming that Griffin attacked him during an argument over a photo at the nightclub. It's unclear whether or not Griffin was being photographed or if someone was taking pictures without permission, but more news should come out as the investigation continued. Rivers said that the situation would not be a distraction to the team heading into the season.
Griffin is one of the most high profile players in the NBA and with all that has been going on in other sports, the league will be looking at this one closely. Griffin has been an All-Star four times and now he comes in after averaging over 25 points and nine rebounds last season. Griffin is an MVP candidate and one of the most important players for the Clippers this year and in the entire NBA. Doc Rivers added that the investigation was "ongoing" and that is why he could not comment much about it.
The Clippers issued a statement from Rivers before the team played against the Phoenix Suns and said that he was "very confident" that the situation would be resolved. The report from ESPN says that no arrest was made when the battery complaint was filed and right now no charges have been filed. According to a department spokesman, the situation was described as an "altercation over a camera" and with Griffin being in LA and Las Vegas as a high profile star, it makes sense something like that could happen.
