NBA superstars may be quite focused on honing their craft and being the best, but some also lead colorful lives off of the court. Tony Parker was a part of the San Antonio Spurs dynasty, but he was well-known for enjoying parties and being involved with beautiful women as well. And while it must have been fun for the French guard, for the most part, there was an unfortunate incident in 2012 that sounds anything but.
Parker was at a club which also happened to host 2 of the biggest names in music. Drake and Chris Brown were both in the building that night, and the two happened to be feuding at the time. Both had dated another musical superstar Rihanna, and some disagreement regarding that led to a feud between them and their crews. The situation got out of hand, with Parker ending up suffering an eye injury in the resulting brawl.
Parker spoke about his injury at the time to Reuters, and Bleacher Report translated his words in an article in 2012.
“I was there with a bunch of friends when a fight broke out. They started to throw bottles about… I got it all.
“The cornea has been touched. I can’t do anything for seven days… But I was lucky. The injury won’t prevent me from competing [in] the Olympics in any way.”
Parker joined the French National Team for the Olympics in London that year, but they were unable to bring home any medals. The feud between Drake and Brown eventually got squashed as well, meaning that, in hindsight, it was just a weird incident that saw Parker end up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
NBA players getting involved in these types of things are far from ideal, though, and the story has a good example for today’s stars. While they are free to do whatever they like, being able to gauge a situation and get out of there if things are looking bad is an invaluable skill.
