Dad Throws Punch At Daughter’s Hoops Coach

January 18, 2011 /

New York Daily News

There may not be a better sophomore basketball player in the city than Banneker’s Africa Williams, who leads the PSAL in scoring. There may not be a more devoted basketball dad than her father, Mike Williams, who attends all of her games and sometimes helps coach the team.

An indident on Friday introduced a jarring detour into what’s so far been a special season for Williams and the Lady Warriors.

When Africa was benched for the first quarter of Friday’s game against visiting Boys & Girls, a punishment for missing a practice, Mike Williams allegedly threw a punch at first-year Banneker coach Jonathan Anderson.

Anderson came away from the incident wondering whether he wants to coach again next season, and Williams could be barred from attending further PSAL games, Anderson said.

Williams and the Banneker coaching staff will meet with school athletic director Francie Johnson today to see if any penalties will be imposed by the school, said assistant coach Edwin (Munch) Llopiz.

The PSAL is also investigating the matter, Board of Education spokeswoman Margie Feinberg said.

Anderson seemed to be quite rattled by the incident.

“I don’t even know if I want to coach here next year,” Anderson said on Sunday. “I really can’t go through this again. It’s his daughter, so he’s going to have influence over her for the next two years. That’s just something that I don’t know if I want to deal with.”

The problem started when Africa was benched at the beginning of Friday’s game against Boys & Girls, punishment for missing practice on Thursday to finish a term paper.

Africa was still tethered to the bench as the first quarter wound down; that’s when her father confronted Anderson. The two moved to a nearby hallway, where the argument escalated. Anderson alleged that Williams told him, “Don’t mess with my daughter’s career,” and tried to punch him but missed.

School safety officers escorted Mike Williams from the building and Anderson left the building on his own, leaving Johnson and Wendell Saunders, Banneker’s boys basketball coach, to sit on the bench for the rest of the game.

“If I threw a punch, then why wasn’t I written up or arrested?” said Williams, who denied throwing a punch and added that the confrontation was blown out of proportion.

Williams questioned Anderson’s decision to bench his daughter, saying that he’d notified Llopiz that his daughter would miss practice.
Africa also questioned her coach’s decision.

“I don’t think it was fair that he benched me when I’m like one of the only players who always comes to practice,” she said. “He’s a good coach, but he never comes to practice.”


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