On June 14, 2012, Tony Parker and his entourage headed out for a fun night in New York City. They decided to hit the upscale nightclub W.I.P., which was also hosting singer Chris Brown and rapper Drake that night.
However, the evening eventually took a turn for the worse when tensions flared between the music artists, leading to a chaotic scene. Several bystanders were caught in the crossfire, including Parker, who was then playing for the San Antonio Spurs.
“I had additional tests on Friday afternoon, and [they] found a piece of glass that had penetrated 99 percent of my left eye. I can say today, I almost lost my eye,” revealed Parker, per Yahoo Sports.
Olympic dreams in jeopardy
There’s never a good time for an experience like that. Still, the timing was particularly inconvenient for the Hall of Famer. The 6’2″ point guard was already scheduled to travel to London next month with his teammates from the French national team, but now that plan was uncertain, with Parker stating, “Anything can happen, including me being out of the Olympics.”
As the tournament approached, Tony, later cleared to participate, sought to build on his strong playoff performance. The three-time NBA champ had played a crucial role in leading the Spurs to the Western Conference Finals, en route averaging 20.1 points and 6.8 assists per game.
It certainly wasn’t the first time a brawl involving ballplayers (though Tony wasn’t to blame), rappers, or both broke out in a nightclub.
As reported by OK Magazine, it all began when a note was sent from Drake’s table to Brown’s, stating, “I am f***ing the love of your life.” Unsurprisingly, this crossed a line for Brown, who was dating pop icon Rihanna at the time, throwing the note to the ground. This prompted the other entourage to show middle fingers to his group, which included rapper Meek Mill. Chris then told Drake to “f*** off,” according to one source. The situation escalated when “they started to throw bottles about,” as Parker later described.
It led to a grim aftermath. Among the five injured was a Brooklyn woman who bled so heavily she feared she was going to “die.”
The 2007 Finals MVP, who later sued the nightclub, also found himself in a dire state; he was confined to bed for eight days, endured heavy medication, and experienced hallucinations. However, as Tony put it, “It could have been worse.”
