Lakers Hall Of Famer Gary Payton Accused Of Assault

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A woman who once was in a dating relationship with Basketball Hall of Fame guard Gary Payton testified Thursday that she feared for her life after two alleged beatings at his hands in the aftermath of an awards ceremony in Seattle in 2015.

"I was afraid for my life," 30-year-old Trishtan Williams told a Los Angeles Superior Court jury hearing trial of her civil suit against the 48-year- old ex-Laker. "He was acting like a beast."

Williams, whose allegations include assault and battery, alleges that during her brief relationship with Payton that he evolved from being a "Prince Charming" to an individual who cheated on her and became abusive, forcing her to end their union.

Lawyers for Payton deny their client assaulted her and say Williams was a younger woman who wanted to exploit a wealthy older man.

Williams testified that she had a relationship with another man and gave birth to her only child in December 2008, but was not involved with any other men between the time she and her son's father separated in 2012 and July 2014, when she met Payton in Las Vegas, unaware of who he was when he walked up to her.

Williams said the two went on a date the next day and eventually traveled together, including the trip to Seattle in late January 2015. Payton worked at the time as a Fox Sports analyst and had his best years as a member of the Seattle SuperSonics.

Williams said she noticed a change in Payton's attitude toward her when the two took a nap at the W Seattle hotel before the awards show. She said she tried to hug him, but that he told her to stay on her side of the bed.

"I didn't know what was going on," she said. "It hurt my feelings."

Williams said that after the ceremony, she, Payton and a Fox co-worker of the former player, Yvette Inclan, spent three to four hours at Ozzie's bar, where Payton met with friends who played darts with him.

She said Williams often frowned at her at Ozzie's and that she was left wanting to return to her Ladera Heights home to be with her son as soon as possible.

Williams said the first alleged confrontation between her and Payton occurred during the ride back to the hotel. She said she was seated in the front passenger seat and that Inclan sat in the back seat. She said she was a bit "tipsy" from drinking.

"All I can remember is Gary grabbing my neck with his right hand and choking me," she said. "I couldn't breathe because he has big hands."

Williams said her head bounced against the right passenger window during the struggle. She said she heard Inclan scream at Payton to stop, but did not see the woman strike him in the temple with one of her elbows as Inclan testified on Wednesday.

Williams said she her head hit the glass again during an ensuing tussle and that she jumped out of the SUV after Payton slowed down. Both Payton and Inclan implored her to get back into the vehicle, Williams said.

"We can fix this at the hotel," Inclan said, according to Williams.

Williams said she got back in the SUV and that after the trio reached the hotel, she accepted Inclan's offer to stay in her room.

Williams said she went with Payton to their room to get her luggage, but that he surprised her when he asked for sex. She said she refused.

"You just (epithet) choked me out in the car," Williams said she told Payton.

She said Payton began choking her again and that she eventually ended up on the floor, pleading for him to get off her.

She said that when she got up, he pulled on her ponytail so hard that the thread used to hold the ponytail together was hanging.

Williams said she left the room and tried to call Inclan, but received no answer. Inclan testified Wednesday that she fell asleep and did not hear her phone ring.

Williams said she did not call the police.

Williams said that except for a visit in New York on business, she never saw Payton again and that she has avoided all relationships with men since then. She said other women need to know what happened between her and Payton and that he should be held accountable for the alleged assaults.

The 6-feet-4-inch Payton sat expressionless as he heard Williams testify. He was nicknamed "the Glove" because of his defensive abilities.

He won his only NBA championship as a member of the Miami Heat in the 2005-06 season. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in September 2013.

Williams is a former producer for "The Amazing Race" and "America's Next Top Model," according to IMDb.

On Wednesday, Inclan, Payton's former Fox coworker, took the stand and gave a tearful account of the attack. She said she was sitting in the back seat of an SUV when she saw Payton become aggressive toward the plaintiff, with whom he was in a relationship.

"I was on my phone," said Inclan, who worked at the time at Fox marketing. "I looked up and he was just wailing his arms at her. He was hitting her with both hands and she was like holding her head."

Inclan said she screamed at Payton to cease the attack.

"I told him to stop and said `What the (epithet) are you doing?,"' Inclan said. "I was yelling the entire time."
Payton kept hitting Williams, the impact causing her head to hit the side passenger window, according to Inclan.

Inclan said she moved forward and struck Payton twice in one temple with an elbow, then used her right hand to hit him in the face.

By BILL HETHERMAN, City News Service; Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images