New details are trickling in about Isaiah Stewart’s MMA moment last month.
TMZ Sports obtained a copy this week of the police report filed by Phoenix Suns big man Drew Eubanks some five hours after being punched by his Detroit Pistons counterpart Stewart on Feb. 14. In the report, Eubanks said that Stewart confronted him over their interactions during a game some three months prior (which Eubanks described as just normal “basketball stuff” that had occurred).
“He got off the bus and he started, um, just talking s–t,” Eubanks was quoted as saying of Stewart. “He said something along the lines of, ‘You wanna run it back? We’re right here. We can do it right now.'”
Eubanks then says that he tried to walk away from Stewart but that Stewart kept advancing towards him until they were face-to-face in an arena tunnel. Stewart then allegedly told, “We can do this s–t right now,” and hit Eubanks in the mouth with a “sucker punch” (as characterized by Eubanks to police). Eubanks also told police that the punch landed in the center of his mouth, causing his gums to bleed and leaving his teeth feeling looser and painful.
You can read TMZ Sports’ full story on the report filed by Eubanks here.
Eubanks made the filing because he wanted to press charges against Stewart at the time. As a result, Stewart was arrested that night by Phoenix police, cited, released, and given a court date. However, the charge filed against Stewart was ultimately dropped days later after Eubanks decided he no longer wanted to pursue the matter legally.
The NBA still handed Stewart a multi-game suspension for the altercation, which Stewart has since served. If Eubanks is correct that it was just normal basketball jostling that angered Stewart during their previous matchup, it will only further Stewart’s reputation as a hothead (which began years ago thanks to his wild on-court incident with LeBron James).
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