Atlanta Dream guard Courtney Williams apologized Monday for a since-deleted YouTube video she posted over the weekend in which she joked about a fight she was involved in earlier this year in Atlanta.
Footage of the fight itself -- which circulated Sunday on social media -- showed Williams, Dream teammate Crystal Bradford and others throwing multiple punches near a food truck outside a club in the Atlanta area. According to a time stamp on the video, the altercation occurred in late May after the WNBA season had begun.
In portions of Williams' YouTube video, also posted on Sunday, she appeared to make light of the incident, but she also voiced concern about being outnumbered. She filmed the 39-minute video with her girlfriend, Glamazontay, a YouTube personality who has more than 870,000 subscribers. The video was later deleted from the video-sharing platform.
"I want to sincerely apologize for the video posted yesterday," Williams posted to Twitter on Monday. "I would never want to represent myself or the organization 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."
I want to sincerely apologize for the video posted yesterday. I would never want to represent myself or the organization 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.
— Courtney Williams (@CourtMWilliams) October 4, 2021
It was unclear how the altercation in Atlanta began, and it didn't appear law enforcement was involved, although club security personnel appeared in the video breaking up the fight.
"The behavior in the video is unacceptable and does not align with our values as an organization," the Dream said in a statement Monday. "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, "We just became aware of the video and are in the process of gathering more information."
Williams, 27, was the No. 8 pick in the 2016 draft and just completed her sixth season in the WNBA. She helped lead Connecticut to the 2019 WNBA Finals, and she was traded to Atlanta before the 2020 season.
Williams led the Dream in scoring (16.5 points per game), rebounds (6.8) and assists (4.0) in 2021 as Atlanta went 8-24. She is set to officially become an unrestricted free agent in January.
Bradford averaged 8.8 points and 3.8 rebounds, but her season ended in August because of a foot injury.