Soon after news of Blake Griffin getting into a fight with one of the members of the Los Angeles Clippers' equipment staff broke out, game developer 2K Sports immediately lower the athlete's "Hands" rating in "NBA 2K16." The move by the studio was apparently in response to Griffin injuring his hand due to the altercation.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the incident involving the Clippers' power forward happened earlier this week at a restaurant in Toronto. Although it is not yet clear what exactly transpired, the report stated that Griffin got into an argument with Matias Testi, the assistant equipment manager of the team.
The argument then led to Griffin punching Testi multiple times before accidentally injuring his hand. A statement released by the L.A. Clippers confirmed the incident and noted that the athlete had suffered a spiral fracture in his right hand, CBS Sports reported.
Then, a few days later, it was revealed that 2K has lowered the rating of Griffin's "Hands" from 97 to 77 in "NBA 2K16." In the world of the NBA-themed game series, the 20-point deficit means that the athlete's virtual counterpart will not be able to make a pass or rebound as well as before.
As for Griffin, he is expected to miss about four to six weeks due to his new injury. He could also face possible suspension due to the brawl.
As noted by Fox Sports, this is not the first time that the game franchise lowered a character's rating based on a real-life controversy. Back in 2010, "NBA 2K10" dropped the "Loyalty" rating of San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker. In the game, the athlete's original rating of 87 was reduced to zero after it was revealed that he cheated on Eva Longoria, who was his wife at that time.
"NBA 2K16" came out on Sept. 29, 2015. It is currently available for the PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Android, iOS, Xbox 360 and Xbox One platforms.
