NOTE: Updated with a Twitter apology apparently from Davis and comments from Ray Allen.

Doc Rivers was a guest on the Dennis & Callahan show Thursday morning and he spoke about a verbal altercation between Glen Davis and a fan in Detroit Wednesday night.

According to published reports, the fan, Scott Zack, heckled Davis about his weight, calling him “fat boy” and “chubs.” Davis responded with profanity that was picked up by microphones and were heard during the broadcast of the game. According to the Boston Herald, the fan placed a complaint with NBA security.

“We’ve been taught you have to take it and you have to keep playing,” Rivers told Dennis & Callahan. “I don’t think it’s a huge step backwards, but it is a step backwards, and Glen Davis has to grow up.”

“I’ve heard some vile things said to me, said to our players, it’s amazing what you hear,” Rivers said. “You should turn around, point to security, and have them deal with it. When you think about it — and I’m bringing it up because it was two days ago, Martin Luther King’s birthday — just think what he heard, and how many times he turned his cheek. If he can do that, why can’t we do that, on a basketball court. You’re not going to win that battle. Let somebody else fight it for you.”

Celtics guard Ray Allen, speaking on the Dale & Holley show, said he was not aware of Wednesday night’s incident but echoed his coach’s sentiments about turning a deaf ear.

“Any guy, I think, that yells back at fans during the game, I think, is uncalled for,” Allen said. “When we as players yell back into the crowd I think it makes us look bad and it makes us look unfocused.”

Added Allen: “It’s just one of those things I think for young players in the league, as you get older you just learn certain things. You stay away from certain people in the crowd. You stay away from certain pitfalls during the game. At the end of the day, it makes us as players look bad if you’re not paying attention to the game, worrying about what somebody in the crowd is saying.”

Davis apparently apologized on a Twitter account labeled GlenDavisNBA.

Via the Twitter feed:

“I’m a tough competitor and I’m proud of the work I’ve done to get in shape and be at the top of my game.”

“That said, I shouldn’t have said what I did. My apologies to the fans and my teammates.”

It’s worth pointing out that the time stamp has both tweets coming in the hour or so after the game. In other words, Davis expressed his regret long before the incident became front-page news. It’s also worth pointing out that this is a different account then bigbabybball, which media outlets cited when the author voiced frustrations over Davis’ unsettled contract situation last summer. Later updates indicate the account might have been a fake.

5 Comments for “Doc: ‘Glen Davis has to grow up’”

1. cuzzy Says:
   January 22nd, 2010 at 9:42 am

   This type of behavior is just another reason not to turn on an NBA game. I don’t care whether he apologized before he said it, 30 seconds after he said it or two days. The bottom line is that the Celtics (not the NBA) should pony up and reprimand him in a manner that makes an impression on him. He has been around high profile college ball and pro ball long enough to know better. This shouldn’t even warrant space on your web site. But no, the Celtics maagement, coaching staff and co players will give us the lip service to somehow, in a small or large way, justify the situation. One more thought, in the real world try going off on a customer and see who comes to your defense. Most likely it will be the unemployment line.

2. Boston Baxter Says:
   January 22nd, 2010 at 9:58 am

   Completely flawed argument clown shoes. One more thought: imagine you are working at the YMCA and a customer comes in and starts berating you while you are doing your job teaching a basketball class to kids. “Hey lard ass!, Fat boy, sloth love chunk” etc. They’d be escorted from the building immediately and banned. In fact imagine ANY real world job where you are heckled and just have to keep doing your job whilst someone is spewing a stream of negativity, not regarding your performance, but something superficial like your appearance? Oops, once again it just doesn’t exist. I’ll slow down and use small words so you’ll be sure to understand.

   Sports Ain’t The Real World.

3. cuzzy Says:
   January 22nd, 2010 at 4:17 pm

   Thank you for using small words like “clown shoes” to help me understand. Unless you are a pawn to spur on other email participants, you might as well be the guy sitting in the stands berating your beloved Celtic. That is how you start off your email response by calling someone a name. If you feel that I am off base, then that is certainly within your right to disagree and offer your opinion…but name calling…is clown shoes different than lard ass or fat boy? I think not. Maybe you have been fortunate enough never to have held a job where this exists…so why don’t you ask a reporter or a columnist…that is real world and that only took me about 4 seconds to use as an example.

   You are right on the mark on one thing…sports ain’t the real world but wrong on another note…I only have a size 10 1/2 shoe.

   This should not be about you and me but rather Big Baby’s reaction.

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