EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., May 28 (UPI) -- Veteran New Jersey Nets point guard Jason Kidd said he had more on his mind than winning an NBA playoff game on Monday as his wife and three-year-old son were taunted by some unruly fans at the FleetCenter in Boston.
Kidd, who was booed every time he touched the ball in the Nets' 94-92 win over the Celtics, said he was more than a little worried about the safety of his wife, Joumana, and the couple's young son, T.J.
They said the verbal taunting they had to endure on Monday was a carryover from Saturday, when the Celtics made a miraculous comeback, coming from 21 points down after three quarters to beat the Nets, 94-90. Several times on Monday, he was subjected to chants of "wife-beater," a reference to the highly-publicized incident at his home in Phoenix last year. Police responding to a domestic disturbance call at the home. She had claimed that she had been struck by Kidd during a disagreement, after which he was ordered to take anger-management counseling. The incident also severely damaged his reputation in Phoenix, and likely was a factor in his being traded to the Nets last offseason.
Joumana Kidd suggested that she was, at the very least, dismayed by the treatment the family got in Boston.
"Evil ... Like it was Satan," she told the Bergen Record. "We didn't wear our [Nets] jerseys [for Game 3] because we heard Boston fans were harsh. We don't want to call them out. Once they saw us, it didn't matter. They recognized us anyway, and they were ruthless.
I've been around the league in playoff situations - Los Angeles, Utah, Sacramento, and Seattle. Fans are fanatic. I understand that. But this was different. This was a lot of hatred - a lot of hatred. The biggest thing that bothered me was going after a three-year-old. This game was awful."
When the Eastern Conference finals continue, Game Five will be played at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J., and will shift back to Boston for Game Six on Friday night.
