The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Williams apologizes for altercation
Dream guard also joked about fight on Youtube video.
Dream guard Courtney Williams and at least one teammate appear to have been involved in a fight, with Williams issuing an apology Monday for a now-deleted Youtube video posted over the weekend in which she joked about the incident.
Footage of the fight, which occurred in May outside an Atlanta food truck, circulated Sunday on social media. It showed Williams, Crystal Bradford and others throwing multiple punches in a melee. Video of the incident lasted for more than two minutes. Williams and her girlfriend, Glamazontay, a Youtube personality, posted a 39-minute video Sunday about the incident. The video has since been removed.
“I want to sincerely apologize for the video posted yesterday,” Williams wrote in a Twitter post Monday. “I would never want to represent myself or the organiza- tion in a negative way. I’m learning everyday so I ask for grace as I’m growing. Again I apologize to all attached, and I will be better moving forward.”
The fight took place during the WNBA season. The Dream issued a state- ment on the incident, which read: “The behavior in the video is unacceptable and
does not align with our values as an organization. We are taking this matter very seriously and working with the league to gather more information and determine next steps.”
The WNBA said in a statement that it is aware of the video and is gathering information.
Williams, 27, was the No. 8 pick in the 2016 WNBA draft. She helped Connecticut to the 2019 finals and was traded to Atlanta before the 2020 season. Williams led the Dream in scoring, rebounds and assists this season and was named a WNBA All-star. She will become an unrestricted free agent in
January. Bradford suffered a foot injury in August and missed the rest of the season. She also will become a free agent.
The incident is the latest in what can be described only as a disastrous season for the Dream.
The franchise was sold in February to a three-mem- ber group led by real estate investor Larry Gottesdiener.
In April, the organization fired president and general manager Chris Sienko days before the draft.
In May, coach Nikki Collen left to take over the Baylor women’s program. She was replaced by Mike Petersen, who lasted until July when
he stepped down for health reasons.
Assistant Darius Taylor took over as interim coach and the team finished the season 8-24.
In July, second-year player Chennedy Carter was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team and did not play the rest of the season. Carter reportedly got into an altercation with Williams on the bench during a game in Las Vegas. Carter posted on Twitter on Sunday: “somewhere with folks with class, somewhere with peo- ple who embrace your talent, somewhere that your loved, somewhere you can actually win …”