Rapper Shyne Sued

By Stef Mcdonald

09/21/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Rap artist Jamal "Shyne" Barrow, the protégé of Sean "Puffy" Combs who was indicted on attempted murder charges as the alleged gunman in a New York club shooting last December, has been sued for $6 million over an altercation in a pickup basketball game. A civil suit filed by Robert Steinmetz, 32, alleges that he required stitches after Barrow threw a basketball in his face and broke his glasses during a game at a gym in New York's Upper West Side last July. At the time, Barrow was charged with four misdemeanor counts of assault. "It is a misdemeanor assault charge," Barrow's lawyer, Renee Hill, responding to the suit, told New York's Daily News. "We seriously doubt that a basketball will be deemed a dangerous weapon." Barrow is expected to appear in court on May 18. If convicted, he could face up to a year in prison.