WNBA Courtney Williams Post Brawl with Crystal Bradford. Atlanta Dream

Co-owner Renee Montgomery says Atlanta Dream didn’t initially know ‘magnitude of situation’ with Courtney Williams, Crystal Bradford.

WNBA Player Courtney Williams Posts Wild Brawl Outside ATL Club, Backlash Ensues

Atlanta Dream point guard Courtney Williams did something questionable for a professional athlete in real life. Then she compounded it by doing something suspect on social media.

In this new world of screen recording and reposts, an adage holds for Williams: Everything on the internet lasts forever.

listen squaring up with Courtney Williams is just bad business. she’s throwing absolute bombs https://t.co/efUEtwFrgm
— Kevin H. (@kjhogo) October 3, 2021

Over the weekend, Williams, 27, posted a since-deleted YouTube video of a fight in Atlanta earlier this year. And Williams was in the fight.

https://twitter.com/ChelleShocked_/status/1444828367241551879

The footage was “Worldstar!” scream-worthy. Williams and her Dream teammate Crystal Bradford threw blows in front of a food truck outside a club in the ATL area.

Co-owner Renee Montgomery says Atlanta Dream didn’t initially know ‘magnitude of situation’ with Courtney Williams, Crystal Bradford

The Atlanta Dream didn’t know the extent of the May altercation involving players Courtney Williams and Crystal Bradford, which is why neither was disciplined at the time, co-owner Renee Montgomery said Wednesday night.

Montgomery, a former WNBA player who is part of the ownership group that bought the Dream in February, addressed the situation on ESPN during halftime of the playoff game between the Connecticut Sun and Chicago Sky.

She said the league is investigating the circumstances.

“This is a tough situation for everyone involved. No one feels good or happy about what transpired,” said Montgomery, who is working as an analyst for ESPN during the playoffs. “And I know a lot of people want information, but right now, the league is involved. We’re dealing with a process that’s going to involve the league and the WNBPA. So we have to respect that.”

The players’ agent, Marcus Crenshaw, said Tuesday that the Dream told him that neither player would return to the team next season. He said they are unrestricted free agents.

Speaking on Instagram Live with Girls Talk Sports TV, Crenshaw said he believes the Dream are not bringing either player back because the organization is embarrassed that video of the fight came to light, as well as a YouTube video Williams posted talking about the altercation. Both circulated on social media Sunday.

“The team knew about the situation months ago,” he said Tuesday. “Right now, the team is trying to act like they have the morals, and [they’re] making [the players] some sort of scapegoats by saying they got put off the Dream because of the altercation.”

Montgomery said Wednesday that the team was aware of the video in May but only saw an abbreviated portion of it, and that then-Dream coach Mike Petersen did talk to the players at the time.

“We saw a clip in May that was 10 to 15 seconds long, with no context,” Montgomery said. “And Coach Petersen, he talked to the players involved, and they told us that, they assured us that it was in self-defense. So we wanted to believe our players. And so, we chose to believe our players, and ultimately didn’t have any disciplinary actions.

“But the thing is, we only understood the magnitude of the situation when we saw that the fuller clip was posted [over the weekend]. And again, this doesn’t feel good for anyone, no one wants to feel this way. But we always want to lean in to believe in our players and believe in women, to even take it a step further.”

Renee Montgomery says WNBA, union looking into Courtney Williams brawl incident

Atlanta Dream co-owner Renee Montgomery confirmed that the WNBA and players association is looking into the incident that Courtney Williams posted on her YouTube channel earlier this week.

Montgomery, speaking during ESPN’s halftime of Game 4 of the Connecticut Sun-Chicago Sky semifinals series, said that the Dream were aware of the incident which was captured on video, involving Williams and Crystal Bradford.

“We saw a clip in May that was 10 to 15 seconds long with no context. Coach [Mike] Petersen, he talked to the players involved, and he told us that they assured us that it was in self-defense so we wanted to believe our players,” Montgomery said of the former interim coach who stepped down in July. “So we chose to believe our players, and ultimately didn’t have any disciplinary actions. But the thing is, we only understood the magnitude of the situation when we saw that the fuller clip was posted.”

Williams posted the full video over the weekend that showed herself, Bradford and former teammate Kalani Brown engaged in a physical altercation in a parking lot in the Atlanta area. It was not clear when the video was shot in May or what precipitated the fight.

Williams later deleted the video from YouTube and apologized for its contents. Her agent, Marcus Crenshaw of The Fam Sports Agency, said on an Instagram Live with Khristina Williams of Girls Talk Sports TV on Tuesday night that Williams and Bradford would not return to the Dream. Both players are free agents.

Montgomery did not address the players’ status with the team.

“This is a tough situation for everyone involved. No one feels good or happy about what transpired,” Montgomery said. “And I know a lot of people want information, but right now the league is involved, and we’re dealing with the process that’s gonna involve the league and the WNBPA so we have to respect that.”

The league and Dream released statements earlier this week that they were aware of the video and “gathering more information.”

The Atlanta Dream refuse to re-sign their lone WNBA All-Star after she and teammates were filmed brawling outside of a club

The Atlanta Dream will not re-sign Courtney Williams, the team’s lone WNBA All-Star.

Williams was caught on film brawling alongside teammates outside of a club during the season.

The 5-foot-8 guard led the Dream in points, rebounds, and assists throughout the 2021 season.

Courtney Williams has played her final game for the Atlanta Dream.

The first-time WNBA All-Star was a bright spot on the court for the struggling franchise. Williams started every game for the Dream and led the team in points, rebounds, and assists throughout the 2021 season.

But her off-court antics have cast a shadow over her in-game achievements, leaving the unrestricted free agent without the option to return to Atlanta next year. The franchise informed both Williams and teammate Crystal Bradford that they would not be re-signed to the Dream’s roster “under any circumstances,” The Next’s Howard Megdal reported Tuesday night.

Courtney Williams (basketball)

Courtney M. Williams is an American professional basketball player for the Atlanta Dream of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).

(born May 11, 1994)

Williams completed her high school basketball career at Charlton County High School. She signed with the University of South Florida and enrolled at the school in the fall of 2012.

Atlanta Dream

The Atlanta Dream is an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).

The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real estate investors Larry Gottesdiener, Suzanne Abair and former Dream player Renee Montgomery. Although the Dream share the Atlanta market with the National Basketball Association’s Hawks, the Dream is not affiliated with its NBA counterpart. The Dream play at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia.

Crystal Bradford

Crystal Bradford is an American professional basketball player for the Atlanta Dream.

(born November 1, 1993)

A star college player at Central Michigan University, she made history being the first player in the CMU program to ever be drafted. She was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 2015.