NBA star J.R. Smith has spoken out after footage of him beating a man on a residential Los Angeles street emerged online.
In footage obtained by TMZ, the 34-year-old former Cavaliers player can be seen kicking and punching a man Smith later claimed to have vandalized his truck.
You can watch the footage below (Warning: Some readers may find it distressing):The video shows the 6'6", 225lbs free agent delivering a barrage of kicks to the man, who can be seen attempting to defend himself.
At one point, a man - presumably one of Smith's friends - asks the person recording to "respect [Smith's] privacy" and stop filming.
The alleged vandal is finally able to scurry away after some of J.R.'s friends step in to hold him back, but not before taking one final shot to the head.
Following the incident, Smith took to Instagram Live to explain to his 4.7 million followers the reasons behind his actions.
Watch Smith explain his actions:Smith, clearly anticipating that the footage who soon be circulated online, explains that: "One of these little motherf***ing white boys didn't know where he was going and broke my f***ing window on my truck. Broke my s**t. This is a residential area."
He continues: "I chased him down and whooped his a**. So when the footage comes out and you see it, I chased him down and whooped his a**. He broke my window."
Presumably due to the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests occurring across the US, Smith then explained that the attack had nothing to do with race from either side: "This ain't no hate crime. I ain't got no problem with nobody who ain't got a problem with me. It's a problem with the motherf***ing system, that's it.
"That motherf***er broke my window, and I whooped his a**. He didn't whose window he broke, and he got his a** whooped."
