A Dallas Mavericks fan said he was beaten during an overnight brawl at a Denny’s restaurant.
Damien Pettie, 29, said the incident began just after 3 a.m. when he approached Mavs forward Tim Thomas at the restaurant on Central Expressway.
He claims he said, “Hey, what’s up?” to the 6-foot 10-inch player.
Pettie said Thomas, who was with a group of friends, began cursin, using racial and gay slurs and calling him vulgar names.
He cursed back at them. That’s when a man who was with Thomas then attacked him, punching him in the mouth, Pettie said.
He said Thomas egged on his friend and a brawl ensued.
“Then all parties within both groups began to throw chairs, knock over tables and fight each other,” a police report states.
The fight broke up when the store manager announced he had called police. Thomas and his group left before officers arrived.
Police responded to the incident and filed a report, but detectives have not yet interviewed Pettie or Thomas. No one was arrested, and it is unclear whether police planned to pursue the case.
In an e-mail, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said the 32-year-old Thomas was there but not involved in the incident.
One witness, Colleen Kissick, told The Associated Press she didn’t hear Thomas say anything before the fight. Another witness, reporter Roger Emrich of KRLD radio, said on the air that he heard Thomas say only, “Just keep going” to Pettie.
Kissick said her mother was hit by one of the chairs or tables as they dined. Kissick said she never saw Thomas involved in any fighting, but added that she didn’t think Pettie did anything to instigate the fight.
