The biggest story of the day so far in the world of sports certainly appears to be Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers. As many know by now, he reportedly punched a team equipment staff member in the face multiple times during an argument and as a result, hurt his hand. But what should be made of all this with the information released so far? Read on to find out.
Early Tuesday morning, it was reported by ESPN via sources that Griffin got into an argument at some point during the team's trip to Toronto (game took place last night, a 112-94 loss) with the staff member who we now know to be Matias Testi, the Clippers' assistant equipment manager.
This is a fascinating story because not only was Griffin in a crowded Toronto restaurant, but he and teammate DeAndre Jordan are supposedly good friends with Testi as well, and they've even gone on a vacation together. Clearly, that friendship was tested sometime yesterday.
Griffin punched him once inside the restaurant, and when Testi tried to leave, he followed him out there and hit him again. The former dunk contest champion also is said to have fractured his hand during this altercation, which will result in about 4-6 weeks more time on the bench (barring any extra time for suspensions). Testi, on the other hand, had to go to the hospital to get checked out for facial damage and had visible injuries to his face.
The reason why the arguments and resulting violence took place is still unknown.
Due to the "why" not being released at this point, it's unfair to say how blatant Griffin's actions are. Obviously, he shouldn't have put himself in this position, but we don't know how he was provoked in this skirmish.
While there is obviously fault somewhere to be placed on Griffin, it's better to hold off. He has no history of any type of assault or wrong doing, and generally keeps his cool on the court as well. Odds are, something serious must have gone down that the public is unaware of at this point to incite that much rage in a player with his demeanor, both on and off the court.
There's certainly still more to this case than we know, and we can only hope to find out at some point what actually went down. Perhaps more light will be shed if anyone gets suspended or lose's their job.
