Glen Rice disputes report son had 'murder in his eyes' before fight

Scott Gleeson | USA TODAY Sports

Glen Rice Jr., the son of former NBA All-Star Glen Rice Sr., was cut from his professional team in Israel as a result of punching a teammate in the face Monday night in the locker room following a loss, the team Hapoel Holon announced in a statement released to Israeli media.

The teammate, Guy Pnini, was hospitalized with a facial injury, and a surfaced social media photo revealed a black eye and bandage on his face. Israeli Police have also opened up an investigation, according to The Times of Israel.

An unnamed Hapoel player told Walla! (an Israeli news site) that Rice Jr. “had murder in his eyes” upon entering the locker room and “jumped on (Pnini) like an animal and struck him in the face.” The two teammates had openly argued on the court during the game beforehand, according to the The Times of Israel.

Rice Sr., now a team scout for the Miami Heat, took issue with the notion that his son had “murder in his eyes” and “jumped on (Pnini) like an animal” in a Twitter argument with a woman quoting the Walla! news story.

“It's very unfortunate a fight broke out and I feel for both individuals,” Rice Sr. said as part of the Twitter exchange.

Could your son be more self sabotaging and/or dangerous to others, @glenrice41? — Hoodie Rebecca 🍀 וואלה ספורט קוראים לי ״גולשים״ (@dorothyofisrael) April 9, 2018

I'm not upset at her but for her to say ignorant things like my son jump him like an animal or that he had murder in his eye is not the case and I WILL NOT STAND FOR THAT. It's very unfortunate a fight broke out and I feel for both individuals. — Glen Rice (@glenrice41) April 10, 2018

The 27-year-old Rice Jr., who briefly played in the NBA, was the Israeli league’s top scorer — averaging more than 24 points a game — and had led Hapoel to a state cup off a last-second game-winner over Maccabi Tel Aviv. Rice Jr. was previously arrested in the U.S. on battery and robbery charges.

Messages made by USA TODAY Sports to the Rice family were not immediately returned on Tuesday morning.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.