Kendrick Perkins gets into altercation at son's AAU game, defends actions

June 8, 2018; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Kendrick Perkins (21) during the second quarter in game four of the 2018 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors at Quicken Loans Arena. The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 108-85 to complete a four-game sweep. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Video circulating Tuesday showed ESPN analyst and former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins lunging toward members of the opposing side during a confrontation at a youth basketball game in Oklahoma. The 41-year-old didn't back away from it afterward.

The incident took place at the Trae Young Family Athletic Center in Norman, Oklahoma, during an AAU matchup between Perkins' team, YPG Perkins, and Swaveway Playaz.

According to sources cited by TMZ, tensions escalated late in the game after what witnesses described as a non-basketball play involving one of Perkins' players.

😳 EXCLUSIVE: Kendrick Perkins was held back in a heated argument at his son's AAU game. pic.twitter.com/TH6MOtQ6qT

Multiple individuals were seen stepping in front of Perkins and pushing him back before the situation was contained.

Perkins responded on X after TMZ shared the footage.

"Damn right and it probably won't be the last time," he wrote. "I'm going to protect every single kid in my organization like they're my own."

Damn right and it probably won’t be the last time! I’m going to protect every single kid in my organization like they’re my own. https://t.co/iOUMHLPXGM

His representative, Kennard McGuire, offered a brief statement to TMZ.

"Kendrick is very passionate about everything, especially when it involves his kids."

Why this moment fits a pattern Perkins has never tried to hide

This isn't his first AAU flashpoint. In 2023, Perkins was ejected from a youth tournament in Las Vegas after refusing to leave the gym, telling officials he had spent thousands of dollars to travel there and wasn't going anywhere, according to  Awful Announcing. He later described the incident on NBA Today with visible amusement.

Perkins won an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008 and has been coaching youth basketball since retiring from the league. His approach to both clearly runs the same way.

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