Ellie Day, wife of golfer Jason Day, said she doesn’t blame her husband or LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers after being run over by the basketball icon while he was chasing a loose ball during a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Days were sitting at courtside when James knocked Ellie out of her chair and she was taken off the court on a stretcher, before spending the night in a hospital because of concussion symptoms, plus bumps and bruises.
“I am okay!!,” Ellie Day said in a Twitter post. “I am incredibly sore and exhausted. Being tackled by that large man I would compare to a minor car accident. My head and neck hit pretty hard so it was really scary. My whole body feels like it was hit by a truck. It was so fast. I didn’t remember until 2 am seeing the ball come toward me. It was a blur.
“To the crazies that think Jason should have protected me–if he had had time to react, so would have I. Also, I would not have liked both dudes landing on me. LeBron is huge and had such momentum he could not have stopped!!
“Third, people are saying it’s a money grab or some crap, which is obviously absurd. Much like attending a golf event and risking getting hit with a ball, sitting court side you risk getting run into.”
Day, No. 2 in the World Golf Rankings behind Jordan Spieth, is from Australia, but the Days live in Westerville, Ohio, and have attended several Cavaliers games at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
Ellie Day gave birth to their second child, Lucy, only five weeks ago.
“I am truly touched by the insane outpouring of support and those of you covering me in prayer,” she said. “It could have been so much worse. I am thankful for so many things. One, that I didn’t have Lucy on my chest in her carrier, and that I wasn’t still pregnant.
“Also that Dash (their three-year-old son) wasn’t with us.”
James, the four-time NBA most valuable player apologized to Ellie personally and also in this message on Twitter: “Ellie Day I hope you’re doing okay! My apologies! Hope u guys come back to another game soon. Love LJ!.”
Jason Day claimed his first major title in the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in August and is scheduled to make his 2016 debut on the PGA Tour next month in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua.
