J.R. Smith regrets ‘stupidness’ after beating alleged car vandal

J.R. Smith has gone from seeing red to feeling blue.

One day after TMZ released a viral video showing an angry Smith beating up a man who allegedly vandalized his car on the street, the former Knicks guard says he regrets his actions in the heat of the moment.

“When it happened, I seen red,” Smith said on the Pat McAfee Show. “Then when I finally snapped to… I’m still disappointed with myself, even though people say I shouldn’t be.

“For me, I’m 34 years old. I have four little girls at home. I don’t want that image – regardless of the fact whether it was right or wrong – I don’t want them to have that image of their dad being capable of doing that, and doing something like that.”

Smith, who was raised in New Jersey, said “Honestly, I’m the only black guy on my block” in Los Angeles.

Protests in response to the death of George Floyd in Minnesota – police officer Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder – have turned from peaceful to looting and violence in several cities across America.

“The one black person who was able to get out of the situation and move into a nice neighborhood and do all of those things that we aspire to do,” Smith said, “you broke that person’s [car] window without even knowing. People are consistently doing stuff when you don’t even know what you are doing it for or why you are doing it.”

Smith chased down and punched and kicked a man who he claims did the damage. The man’s identity is unknown.

“It was just a random act of stupidness, and I give him that,” Smith said. “But, that ass-whooping was a random act of stupidness on my behalf.”

Smith is a free agent who last played in the NBA for Cleveland Cavaliers (11 games) last season.