Anyone defending Matt Barnes or roughing up a woman has issues. While men and women can both be victims of domestic violence, 3/4 of the victims of domestic murders are women. We don't have much information about Barnes' case, but we do know that the police officer who responded looked at both their injuries and assessed that Barnes clearly inflicted more. That's not surprising since Barnes is a 6'7" pro athlete. Guys who think that it's alright to slap a woman to get their way are boys, not men. Children, not adults, resort to violence to get their way.
I don't think people are "defending" Matt Barnes. I think they're simply saying that people tend to automatically give women the benefit of the doubt---especially when we don't know the whole story.
"Never hit a woman" is too idealistic. You can cry foul under the pretense of being a gentleman all you want, but fact of the matter is, every situation is unique and should be evaluated after all the facts are available.
