Daniel “Boobie” Gibson tells TMZ that he was just defending his wife’s honor when he got into an altercation with a man at the Essence Music Festival earlier this month.

Gibson, who played with the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, called in to “TMZ Live” to explain why he turned himself in to police in New Orleans today on 2nd degree battery charges.

Boobie says his wife Keyshia Cole was performing at the event when a man approached her and spouted off some very “disrespectful” comments toward the singer.

Boobie says an altercation broke out and “safety was threatened,” so Boobie says he “needed to take action.”

Despite the allegations against him, Boobie says he did nothing wrong, adding, “I have nothing to be ashamed of or hide.”