Marcus and Markieff Morris of the Phoenix Suns allegedly assaulted a man for sending an "inappropriate" text message to their mother. The text message, which the alleged victim claims may have been misinterpreted, allegedly led to the man getting jumped by the Morris twins and three of their friends.
Phoenix police are investigating whether the Marcus and Markieff were involved in a 5-on-1 assault of a man outside a sports facility in January. No arrests have been made and no charges have been filed. The Morris twins deny having any involvement.
The alleged victim, Erik Hood, identified three of his five attackers - the Morris twins and another man, Julius Kane - to police. Hood claims he was attacked because of a text message he sent to the twins' mother, according to the Arizona Republic. The text message, Hood claims, said he would always be there for the twins' mother and may have been misinterpreted as being something sexual.
While Marcus and Markieff have denied any involvement, the police may have caught them in at least one lie: their relationship to Hood. In the police report, as reported by The Republic, the twins claim they don't know the alleged victim. Hood, though, says he knows the twins well. The report indicates Hood told police he had been a mentor to the twins and had supported them financially at one point while they were in high school, before he and the twins had a falling out. Hood backed up his claim of knowing the twins by showing police photographs of himself with Marcus and Markieff, according to the report.
The report also goes into detail about the alleged attack on Hood, who once played professional basketball before becoming a talent scout.
Per Matthew Casey of The Republic:
"Hood told investigators he and (a woman) were leaving the facility when they were accosted by Julius Kane, 25, the man Hood believes told the Morris twins about the text messages, the report said. During the confrontation, someone punched Hood in the back of the head, and Hood tried to flee.
"Police said Kane and another person caught up with Hood outside the door near some picnic tables, where someone held Hood down while others kicked and punched him, records show. Hood says he was attacked by five people, in all.
"Hood reportedly escaped a second time and was near the front of the complex when the group caught up to him and assaulted him again to the point of unconsciousness, according to the police report.
"Witnesses told police they saw the five subjects flee in a Rolls-Royce Phantom, but none of them were able to identify any of the subjects. Investigators reportedly interviewed about two dozen additional witnesses who said they did not see anything or could not identify those involved."
Hood suffered a broken nose, a large knot on the back of his head and several abrasions, according to the report. The woman who was with Hood at the time of the incident also identified the Morris twins as two of the attackers.
Suns president Lon Bobby indicated the organization is aware of the investigation.
"The Phoenix Suns are aware of an investigation by the Phoenix Police Department of an alleged assault," Bobby said in a statement. "We have no information beyond what has been alleged in the police report and therefore have no further comment on the matter at this time. Our organization will closely monitor developments as the legal process unfolds."
