Over the weekend, NBA legend Scottie Pippen was leaving a classy restaurant in Malibu, California when he was approached by a man who wanted his autograph. After a brief confrontation, the Hall of Famer sent the random dude to the hospital. Initially, those bare bones facts were all that was reported, and they led more than a few people to conclude Pippen wildly overreacted to a minor annoyance. If new rumors about the case are to be believed, however, the truth is a hell of a lot more complicated.
According to TMZ, Pippen was at Nobu on Sunday night eating with some friends and family members when the aforementioned man reportedly started pestering him with drunken questions. At one point, the dude even allegedly sat down at Pippen’s table mid-meal to try and talk more after someone in the ex-player’s group got up to take a pee. By all accounts, the former Bull put on a smile and did his best to handle the distractions throughout the meal. Afterwards, he reportedly even posed for a picture with the man outside the restaurant, but when he asked for an autograph on top of it, Pippen reportedly told him no, and that’s when the situation quickly went south.
The autograph refusal reportedly set the drunk dude off, causing him to freak out, swear at Pippen, allegedly call him the n-word and allegedly try and spit on him. Unfortunately, the spit, in a stolen Seinfeld plot, allegedly missed Scottie and struck his young daughter, which led Pippen to knock the guy’s teeth out and give him a one-way ambulance trip, which, altogether, is a very different story from the one we were initially given that painted Pipp as more of a loose cannon.
On the one hand, it’s easy to see why Pippen may have lost his temper with a drunk dude. It’s easy to see why Pippen would throw fists after someone (allegedly) spit on his daughter. If this version of events is to be believed, it’s not exactly ridiculous that he would have gotten violent. On the other hand, however, there’s a difference between teaching someone a lesson and knocking a drunk man’s teeth out and putting him in the hospital. That sounds like more of an overreaction than a level-headed response.
It’s hard for me to blame Pippen for defending his daugher, but I see why some are still calling him out of control. What do you think? Do you fault Pippen for putting this dude in the hospital? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…
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