Plaintiff Testifies In Barkley Trial

Charles Barkley threw the first punch in a nightclub fight, said Jeb Tyler, 24, of Spencerport, N.Y., the man who is suing Barkley for more than $500,000.

Tyler, a business equipment salesman, is suing the Houston Rockets forward over a fight at Cleveland’s The Basement. He contends he was punched while acting as a peacemaker between a friend, David DiGiacco, 27, of Rochester, N.Y., and Barkley.

Tyler said on the second day of the trial that Barkley cursed at him and DiGiacco and told them both to get out of the bar.

“I said, ‘Why should we have to leave? Why don’t you leave?’ That’s when he punched me in the head,” Tyler said.

The Los Angeles Lakers re-signed free-agent forward Robert Horry to a multiyear contract.

Toronto Raptors center Sharone Wright will miss the first three months of the 1997-98 NBA season after undergoing surgery to repair injuries sustained in a car accident that happened last Friday.