Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams doesn't take himself too seriously and it's not uncommon to see him smiling on and off the court. However, following Tuesday night's 103-101 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Williams was far from happy. In fact, he absolutely roasted the referees in a curse-filled rant after the crazy game.
With less than two minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Williams was called for a technical foul after complaining about what he believed to be a missed call. A few plays later, Williams noted that Sixers forward P.J. Tucker moaned to the officials in a similar fashion, yet received no technical at all.
“So that moment where I got hit in the face twice, I said, ‘Call the f—–g foul,’” Williams said postgame, per Jay King of The Athletic. “And next thing you know I got a technical. So I got a technical for that. And the following possession P.J. says, ‘Call the f—–g push-off.’ No technical foul.”
Williams' tirade didn't end there though, as he was also angry that the offensive foul committed by MVP-hopeful Joel Embiid with just two seconds left in the game wasn't reviewed.
“Later in the game, after Joel throws me across the face on the out-of-bounds play, no review of a flagrant, no review of nothing,” Grant Williams recalled. “Then he proceeds to say, ‘How the f— do you call a foul on me in that position? That’s not a f—–g foul.’ And no technical foul. So it was like, OK, did I do something different from the other guys that led to me getting a technical foul? Or is it one of those things where I just need to shut up and dribble?”
This isn't the 24-year-old's first squabble with referees this season. Even during the preseason, Williams was ejected from a meaningless game for critiquing a referee:
Grant Williams said he got his tech for telling the ref: "Referee the game, not your emotions."
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) October 15, 2022
Then when the actual regular season kicked off in late October, Williams was suspended one game for making contact with an official:
Grant Williams will serve a one game suspension for "recklessly making contact with and directing inappropriate language toward a game official"
(h/t @AhnFireDigital )
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) October 26, 2022
Grant Williams isn't the only NBA player who's waged war on refereeing this season, however, his complaints will likely do him no favors. Regardless of the officiating, the C's will have to come out looking stronger tonight versus the Toronto Raptors after Embiid completely dominated them on Tuesday.
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