Victor Wembanyama found himself at the center of controversy prior to his first game as a member of the San Antonio Spurs. A member of his security team allegedly struck Britney Spears while the singer attempted to go up to him at the ARIA Hotel in Las Vegas, with Spears claiming that she tried to go up to him from behind and tapped on his shoulder before she was backhanded “in the face without looking back, in front of a crowd. Nearly knocking me down and causing my glasses off my face.”
Spears ended up filing a police report over the incident, and on Friday, we learned that the Las Vegas Metro Police Department will not end up pressing charges. In a statement, the LVMPD said that it concluded its investigation into the incident, and as a result, “no charges will be filed against the person involved.
Both Spears and Wembanyama addressed the incident in the aftermath, with Spears claiming that Wembanyama was aware of what went down — “Watching the player smile and laugh was cruel and demoralizing with the situation that took place,” she said. While meeting with the media on Thursday, Wembanyama claimed that he wasn’t sure what happened, because he “never saw her face” and did not learn it was Spears until “a couple hours” later. According to his version of the events, he was told not to stop as he was walking through the casino, and that Spears didn’t grab his shoulder.
“She grabbed from behind,” Wembanyama said. “So I just know that the security pushed her away. I don’t know with how much force, though, but security pushed her away and I didn’t stop to look, so I kept walking and enjoyed a nice dinner.”
Wembanyama will make his Summer League debut on Friday night against the Charlotte Hornets.
