Why do I not see people vilifying the ex-wife? The way I see it, she's likely a vindictive, evil, mastermind. She has played this perfectly from numerous angles. Hell hath no fury, right?
REVENGE: Barnes publicly embarrassed her, yet again, with his admission that he and Rihanna were 'getting to know each other,' even before his divorce was finalized. She was looking for payback. What better way than finally returning the advances of someone he considered a friend, or perhaps even going out of her way to reconnect with his former teammate to embarrass him right back? Mission accomplished, x10!
LEGAL: If she wanted to sue for a larger portion of custody, this is yet another drop in Barnes' history of violence bucket. On top of that, she has grounds to file for a restraining order, which would make seeing his kids a bit complicated. Depending on just how evil she is, this could all be for extra perks on top of the alimony checks that Barnes will have to relinquish as a way to compensate her for NOT involving the courts.
PUBLICITY: I had zero clue that this woman was in the Basketball Wives reality show...now I do. Will I watch it? Heck no. But, there are many who now will. The show gets an instant spike in viewership, and her celebrity status/notoriety has exploded. Any publicity is good publicity, as they say.
A millionaire celebrity with so much to lose cannot handle these kinds of situations like the rest of society. It's easy to say this in hindsight, but what Barnes did was just plain stupid, regardless of empathy. The sad thing is, while claiming to have confronted Fisher in some neanderthal way of protecting his kids, he likely just created a scarring moment in their childhood. It's a shame. The only party I truly feel sorry for are the children caught in the middle of all of this.
On a side note, putting my divorce lawyer hat on, Barnes shouldn't stand in "love's" way, if that's what it is, for a couple of reasons. If Fisher was to marry Barnes' ex-wife, it would save the man so much in alimony payments. I'm sure this woman will tell the courts that she is 'accustomed to a certain lifestyle,' which means Matt's accounts/assets are in for a drastic decrease. If Coach Fisher, the 25 Million Dollar Man, was to marry this woman, that's a major long term headache averted! Not to mention, I think Fisher wouldn't be a bad step-father. This is complete speculation, but nothing he's done that we know about really indicates that he'd be a danger/bad influence to his potential stepchildren. Not to mention the financial stability he can provide. On the other hand, with the track record this woman has, falling for someone like Matt Barnes and the desire to grab headlines, I could very well see her shacking up with another "bad boy" in the pro sports or entertainment genre. What if Avante Rose became Barnes' kids' new stepfather?