French-born Victor Wembanyama is the shiny new toy in the sport of basketball. In June, the 19-year-old was drafted No. 1 overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Draft, as his 7’5″ frame and absurd athleticism has made basketball experts drool. But, just two days before his first game with the Spurs, he and his security team landed in some hot water.
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On Thursday morning (July 6), TMZ reported that Britney Spears filed a police report to the Metropolitan Police Department after being assaulted by Wembanyama’s security team in Las Vegas. Per the report, Spears was in Vegas last night (July 5) at Catch restaurant at the ARIA Hotel when she spotted Wembanyama across the venue.
Wembanyama is currently in Vegas preparing for a game Friday (July 7) in the NBA’s Summer League, where he will make his debut as a Spur. Fans of Wembanyama’s talents, Spears, her husband Sam Asghari, and two of their friends decided to approach him for a photo and an autograph. However, when Spears walked up to him and tapped the 7-footer on the shoulder, The Spurs’ director of team security Damian Smith allegedly backhand slapped her across the face, causing her and her glasses to fall to the ground.
Immediately after this, Spears returned to her table at the restaurant, and the Spurs security guard went over to her table and apologized, as he did not know who he had just hit. “You understand how it is when you’re being swarmed by fans,” Smith said.
Although Spears accepted Smith’s apology, she and her team still decided to go through with a police report, as she alleges he committed battery against her. But, shortly afterward, TMZ‘s sources stated that police will not pursue criminal charges against Smith, as they believe his intentions were to protect Wembanyama instead of to injure Spears.
(Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)
