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Jason Williams apologizes after ‘eventful’ Florida-Texas Tech series

On3 imageby: Zach Abolverdi05/25/26ZachAbolverdi

GAINESVILLE, Fla — After what he called an “eventful weekend” in Gainesville, former Florida men’s basketball star Jason Williams took to social media on Monday to address the dramatic softball series between the Gators and Texas Tech, where his daughter Mia Williams transferred to after two years at UF. Williams later apologized for his role in the tension.

In the series opener Friday, a fan was ejected over a spat with Williams’ youngest daughter after he was initially escorted out by police. Mia Williams was then hit on the first pitch of Sunday’s finale and later had the go-ahead home run, causing a tense scene at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. The Red Raiders run-ruled Florida with a 16-7 win to advance to the WCWS.

“I’ve been doing a whole lot of hollering this past weekend, voice gone rooting on the Red Raiders from Texas Tech against the Gators from Florida. Yeah, I had an eventful weekend,” Williams said. “My daughter did her thing; the whole team did their thing. But especially proud of my daughter going back to Florida and doing what she did, going through the s**t she went through this past weekend. If you guys watched the game, you guys know what time it is. You guys see how them Florida Gators acted at the end of the game. They didn’t really want to shake hands. They didn’t want to do none of that.”

Florida coach Tim Walton was tossed late in the game and then the Gators did not line up to shake hands afterward. The Red Raiders celebrated and taunted UF players after they went into their dugout. Williams was filmed in the stands Sunday doing the Gator Chomp after his daughter’s home run and then celebrated on the field with the team after the win.

Williams acknowledged that both sides took things too far and apologized for his part. He also addressed the altercation with the fan from Friday and said he refused to press charges.

“The crowd tried to get me ejected, this that and the third. Some fans hit my youngest daughter with some objects. We were asked if we wanted to press charges. Nah, we ain’t ’bout that. Let that little old lady live, man. She ain’t got much longer to go, so let her go on and live man. We didn’t do nothing to her. She was just mad that the Gators was losing, and that’s cool. That’s what she’s supposed to be. She’s supposed to be mad when the Gators are losing if she’s a real fan. But she ain’t supposed to be hitting little girls with objects and s**t like that. But that’s for another day,” Williams said.

“Look, we’re moving on to the World Series. We want to do what’s right. We were cheering for our team, they were cheering for their team. Things got out of hand. They said some stuff that they wasn’t supposed to say, we said some stuff we probably wasn’t supposed to say, and that’s just sports. That’s what time it is. God knows what time it is in between the lines. So with that all being said, I just want everybody know that I’m happy. I’m happy we won. I’m a Florida Gator in my blood. Without Florida, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today. So like I said, they said some things they shouldn’t have said and we said some things we shouldn’t have said. So, we’re sorry from our side. That’s all I can say.”

Williams was for a two-year starter for the UF softball team. She started all 65 games at second base in 2025 and batted .335 with 52 runs, 44 RBI and 19 home runs. She made 57 starts as a freshman with 18 hits, 18 RBI and six homers. Williams is tied for No. 9 nationally this season in home runs (24).

Williams followed Billy Donovan from Marshall to Florida and starred for the Gators in 1997-98 after sitting out a year due to NCAA transfer rules. He averaged 17.1 points, 6.7 assists and 2.7 steals in his lone season at UF and set the school record for assists in a game (17), which still stands.

Williams scored 24 points in Rupp Arena and led the Gators to an 86-78 upset at No. 7 Kentucky, which was the biggest win of the Donovan era at the time. After 20 games, Williams was dismissed from the team for cannabis use and went on to become the No. 7 pick in the 1998 NBA Draft.

Williams spent 12 seasons in the NBA and won a title with the Miami Heat in 2006. He attends UF men’s basketball games regularly.