NBC Sports California has decided to part ways with Matt Barnes, who served as an analyst for their Sacramento Kings coverage. This decision comes shortly after an incident involving Barnes and a student announcer.
The news was first reported by Carmichael Dave of KHTK Sactown Sports 1140, and later confirmed by Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. According to a spokesperson from NBC Sports California, Barnes will no longer be appearing on the network. Barnes had been working as a pre and postgame studio analyst for Kings broadcasts on NBC Sports California for three seasons.
The incident in question occurred during a high school basketball game attended by Barnes, where video footage showed him appearing to berate a student announcer identified as Jake Lancer by the Los Angeles Times. Lancer stated that Barnes approached the broadcast table and threatened him, as he was informing the audience of a delay caused by Barnes’ confrontation with the referees.
NBC Sports California has parted ways with Matt Barnes for their Sacramento Kings coverage after he had an incident with a student announcer. ⏬https://t.co/qsxCUQFkeX
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 22, 2024
Barnes later appeared on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, where he admitted to yelling at the referees during the game. However, he claimed that Lancer had told him to “sit my a** down,” which led to a verbal exchange between them. Barnes acknowledged that touching Lancer was wrong.
Despite Barnes’ explanation, footage from the broadcast does not show Lancer engaging with Barnes or making any offensive remarks. Harvard-Westlake, Lancer’s school, issued a statement praising his composure during the incident.
Although Barnes will no longer be featured on Kings broadcasts, his popular podcast, All The Smoke, which he co-hosts with Stephen Jackson, recently partnered with Le Batard and Meadowlark Media. Additionally, Barnes and former Showtime Sports executive Brian Dailey announced the launch of their production company, All The Smoke Productions, last week.
