NEW YORK, (Reuters) – San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker is seeking up to $20 million in damages from a New York City nightclub for injuries he says he sustained when a fight erupted between friends of singers Chris Brown and Drake.
Parker contends that nightclub W.i.P. is responsible for a “corneal laceration of the left eye and other injuries” he suffered during the June 14 bottle-throwing melee since it failed to take proper security precautions, according to a lawsuit filed by the basketball star on Thursday.
Parker, a four-time NBA All-Star who has won three championships with the Spurs, currently is in Paris, lawyer David Jaroslawicz said. Parker plans to play for his native France in the London Olympics beginning next month.
The lawsuit alleges “reckless, careless and negligent” conduct by management for permitting Brown and Drake’s entourages into the club despite “known tension” between the musicians. Brown and Drake were not named in the lawsuit.
Representatives from W.i.P. were not available for comment.
“It [the club] was clearly out of control,” Jaroslawicz said.
The altercation began when both singers were at the bar separately and several unidentified men approached Brown to ask if he had a problem with Drake, according to the New York Police Department.
Later as Brown exited the club, five men with Drake began stripping off their shirts and confronted him, according to witnesses interview by police.
Bottles were then thrown from other parts of the bar. Police were unsure whether they were tossed by other bar patrons or by members of each singer’s circle of friends.
Representatives for both singers have denied any wrongdoing on the parts of Brown and Drake and said both are cooperating with police.
Drake briefly dated pop star Rihanna after Brown, 23, had dated her for a longer period. Brown pleaded guilty to beating Rihanna in February 2009 and was sentenced to five years probation.
The glass in his eye would require surgery, the lawyer said. “It’s not a good thing.”
