Charlotte Hornets player Grant Williams was ejected from Friday’s game against the Boston Celtics. Williams was ejected for a hard hit on Celtics star Jayson Tatum at the Spectrum Center in North Carolina.
The dirty foul took place late in the 4th quarter during the Hornets’ 124-109 loss to the Celtics.
Via CBS Sports — With just over two minutes remaining, Miles Bridges missed a layup and the Celtics took off the other way. As Tatum was racing up the middle of the court, Williams came charging in from the blindside and body checked Tatum to the [floor].
Tatum quickly got up and walked over to the foul line. The officials reviewed the play and upgraded the hard hit to a flagrant-2 foul, resulting in an automatic ejection.
Grant Williams hard foul on Tatum ? pic.twitter.com/VUzN4W5oMw
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) November 2, 2024
After the game, Williams accused Tatum’s teammate Jaylen Brown of “escalating” the situation.
“I understand he’s trying to protect his teammate,” Williams said of Brown. “But that’s [Tatum] my dog. No matter what, I got his back. … No malice or any issue with that.”
But Brown was still upset during the post-game press conference.
“Like, what are we talking about? Y’all see the same play that I was seeing?” Brown asked reporters. “He hit him like it was a football play. Like, Ray Lewis coming across the middle or something. It is what it is. Grant know better than that.”
Williams and Tatum are former Celtics teammates. Williams played for the Celtics for 4 years.
The clip below shows the tense atmosphere between Williams and Tatum in the locker room before Williams was traded.
Williams held out his hand to greet Tatum’s son named Jayson Jr. But Tatum got up, took his son’s hand and walked away.
Celtics play-by-play announcer Mike Gorman once called Williams “annoying” and a “bad locker room guy”.
It’s obvious that Tatum, 26, doesn’t speak to Williams, 25. Rumor has it that Tatum pressured the Celtics to trade Williams.
There are rumors of sëxual tension between Williams and Tatum. But Tatum is heterosexual and a devout Christian who praises Jesus for his success.
In addition to Jayson Jr., Tatum and singer/songwriter Ella Mai had their first child together recently.
