Grant Williams will try to ‘hold my tongue,’ accepts suspension for contact with ref
"I've got to be better."
Grant Williams would have texted referee Cheryl Flores to apologize for his outburst during the Celtics‘ 120-102 loss to the Bulls on Monday … if he was allowed to do so.
Unfortunately for Williams, league rules prevent players from contacting referees off the court. Instead, he had to settle for texting the correct channels to express his apologies.
“There’s like these liaisons between the NBA and the players and as well as the NBA through the union, so just texted through that just to make sure my message was heard,” Williams told reporters on Thursday. “Whether that was communicated, I don’t know. I don’t know how that gets trickled down the chain. But I did my part, did my best.”
Williams said he inadvertently ran into Flores when he popped off the floor quickly and ran toward the bench after being whistled for a blocking foul early in the fourth quarter as the game started to get away from the Celtics.
Crew chief Marc Davis told a pool reporter after the game that Williams ran into Flores intentionally, but Williams denied that vehemently.
“I literally see in the video — I tried to avoid it and my glute hit her hip, and that’s why I made contact,” Williams said. “It’s one of those things when earlier in the game, [Bulls center Nikola] Vucevic was trying to throw the ball down and [referee] Natalie [Sago] was under him, but she ducked. But things like that in the position, emotion-wise, you’re going. And I definitely [was] nowhere near intentional, nowhere near anything of that nature.”
Still, Williams understands two important things. First, the league can’t allow players to make contact with officials — and the onus lies on the players to avoid putting themselves in those situations.
“In the moment, you’re kind of livid and you’re like, ‘Why am I suspended?’ and everything else,” Williams said. “And then you realize it’s for the betterment of the league, it’s for the betterment of yourself, it’s for the betterment of everyone around you. So, for me, I’ve just got to take ownership of that. Make sure I take that on the head myself and move on.”
Second, Williams knows he needs to chill out a little bit with the officials.
“I have to be better in a sense of being more mature and understanding that your emotion is as good as what you base yourself growing as a player,” Williams said. “It’s just a matter of channeling that and using it in a better direction, and using that a little bit as directing that towards your teammates and making sure everybody’s engaged and motivated. Direct them towards yourself if you’re not having a great game yourself.
“For me, I’m going to try to do a better job of just probably not communicating as much, to understand that the game is more important than anything else. We have to be respectful and communicate more, but I’ll try my best to hold my tongue as much as I can.”
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