Teammates Strickland, Murray Exchange Blows

Washington Wizard point guard Rod Strickland and swingman Tracy Murray came to blows at the team hotel Wednesday afternoon, requiring Murray to get seven stitches below his left eye and Strickland to undergo X-rays after the Wizards’ 104-101 loss to the Charlotte Hornets Wednesday night at Charlotte Coliseum.

After the game, Murray left before the locker room was open to reporters and Strickland refused to comment, but sources said the dispute arose over a phone conversation between Murray and a woman in Los Angeles sometime in the past few days. The woman taped the conversation, which included Murray making disparaging remarks about Strickland, and then played the tape for Strickland to hear.

Strickland visited Murray’s hotel room Wednesday afternoon and a scuffle ensued. Murray was left with a large bruise on the back of his upper left arm, a swollen lip, a black left eye and a cut below the eye. The Hornets’ team doctor closed the cut before the game and Murray wore a bandage over it while playing. Strickland had a scrape below the knuckle of his middle finger and a large L-shaped scrape on his left shoulder.

“It’s a family matter that needs to be resolved inside,” Coach Bernie Bickerstaff said.