It’s a well-known fact Boston Celtics team president Danny Ainge has an affinity for instigators — and used to be one himself as a player.
So much so, it would sometimes come back to bite him, one time quite literally.
In a game against the Atlanta Hawks on April 24th, 1983, Ainge was up to his usual shenanigans, giving and taking insults and hard contact with Atlanta big man Tree Rollins.
After the latter threw an elbow that connected to the now-team president’s head, Ainge decided to tackle the imposing 7-foot-1 center from below, and took him to the parquet where pandemonium broke out.
Then, Rollins bit a hand he claims was trying to jab him in the eye.
That hand belonged to Ainge, who doesn’t buy Tree’s story — but is still happy to talk about his takedown. “The best part of it was my tackle,” said Ainge via the Boston Herald’s Steve Bulpett.
“It was good. I’m seriously surprised that, after watching me tackle Tree, [New England Patriots head coach Bill] Belichick hasn’t called me to come in and teach his defensive backs how to make tackles.”
The former Celtic shooting guard then related his version of the encounter: “I just recall that it was a real heated game, a real physical game.”
Posted earlier:@danielrainge on the anniversary of Tree Rollins dining on his finger. Interesting and funny stuff…
But even more than that, you don't want to miss what he says about what his brothers did to him when he was a kid.https://t.co/PBteOMKhqW
— Steve Bulpett (@SteveBHoop) April 24, 2020
“We felt like Tree was being a little over-physical with his screen-setting,” Ainge added. “He had knocked Quinn Buckner out. I was on the bench, and Quinn went in and got knocked unconscious for a second.”
“When I came back in, he got me again, and the referees, they don’t want to hear anything about it. So as we crossed each other in the open court, he was going to bump me and I was going to bump him, and we sort of elbowed each other. Then he looked at me like he wanted to fight, and I had two choices: I could run, or I could go for the legs.”
“Then everybody was on the floor, and I was on the bottom of the pile with my finger in his mouth,” added Ainge.
It would cost him $1000, and Rollins five times that; Ainge still has a scar from the altercation today. He and Tree hold no ill will towards one another, though, and have crossed paths on amicable terms several times since.
“I mean, I hold zero grudges. I don’t care about all that,” said Ainge. “He was a good person, good guy, good teammate. I don’t have any issues with him. It’s just something that happened in the heat of the moment.”
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