Jason Williams says Florida fan hit daughter: 'She isn't supposed to be hitting little girls'
· Yahoo Sports
Just when it seemed the drama surrounding Game 3 of the Gainesville Super Regional between Florida and Texas Tech couldn't escalate further, a new twist has been added to the saga.
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Former NBA and Florida point guard Jason Williams said in a video posted to X (which contains explicit language) that his family declined to press charges against a Gators fan who hit his youngest daughter in the stands of the Gainesville Super Regional between No. 6 seed Florida and No. 11 seed Texas Tech.
"We were asked whether we wanted to press charges," Williams said in the video. "Nah, we ain't about that. Let that little old lady live. She ain't got much longer to go.
"... We didn't do anything to her. She was just mad that the Gators were losing, and that's cool. That's what she's supposed to be. She's supposed to be mad when the Gators are losing if she is a real fan. But she isn't supposed to be hitting little girls with objects and (expletive) like that."
Jason Williams was in Gainesville for the best-of-three super regional to watch his oldest daughter, Mia Williams, compete for Texas Tech. As previously reported by The Gainesville Sun — part of the USA TODAY Network — Jason Williams was initially escorted out of the stadium by campus police after getting into an altercation with a Gators fan who he said struck his daughter with a handheld fan while the family celebrated a hit from Mia Williams.
The fan was ultimately ejected from the stadium instead.
Mia Williams transferred this past offseason to play for the Red Raiders after two seasons at Florida, which turned out to be a major storyline going into the super regional. The Red Raiders' second baseman was hit by a pitch five times in the series, including one on the first pitch of Game 3 by Florida ace Keagan Rothrock.
In the at-bats where she wasn't hit by a pitch, Williams went 3-for-7 with two home runs, five RBIs and three runs scored. Speaking to Gainesville, Jason Williams said Florida coach Tim Walton's ejection in the bottom of the fifth inning for arguing balls and strikes was "premeditated," so he didn't have to shake hands after the game with his daughter.
"He got kicked out because he didn’t want to shake her hand," the former Gators basketball guard told the Gainesville Sun.
In his two-minute-plus video posted on X on Monday, Jason Williams doubled down on both instances, saying "you guys see how the Florida Gators acted at the end of the game" and that "the crowd tried to get me ejected."
He also apologized from "our side" for Texas Tech fans saying "some things we shouldn't have said."
Texas Tech kicks off its second straight Women's College World Series appearance on Thursday, May 28 at noon ET against Mississippi State — who upset No. 4 Oklahoma in the Norman Super Regional — at Devon Park in Oklahoma City.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jason Williams says Florida fan hit youngest daughter, family declined to press charges