Jason Day’s wife Ellie stretchered out of arena after colliding with LeBron James
UPDATE: Jason Day’s wife has spoken about the “car accident” moment NBA star LeBron James crashed into her courtside.
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JASON Day’s wife has been stretchered out of Quicken Loans Arena after she was crashed into by LeBron James.
Ellie Day was sitting courtside at Cleveland’s home against the Oklahoma City Thunder when the NBA superstar collided with her while trying to haul the ball back into play.
LeBronâs full body weight fell on Jason Dayâs wife, Ellie, who has been taken out of the arena on a stretcher. https://t.co/copq0F0QfH
â Fans Favorite FAN (@FansFavoriteFan) December 18, 2015
LeBron was attempting to intercept a Russell Westbrook pass when he tried to tip the ball back to Tristan Thompson deep in the fourth quarter.
Day was carried out of the stadium with her head in a brace. She has since been released from hospital after being cleared of any serious injury.
However, that’s not exactly how she feels about it.
Ellie Day posted a screenshot statement on her Twitter account today, declaring she feels like she was involved in a car accident.
“Wow!! It’s official. More messages from getting plowed over by LeBron than Jason winning a major. HA,” she wrote.
“First of all, I’m okay!! I’m 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.
“Second, it was so fast. I didn’t remember until 2am seeing the ball come towards me. It was a blur. To the crazies that think Jason should have protected me — if he 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.
This! @JDayGolf @KingJames we good! ðð pic.twitter.com/1cYjOuBxdv
â Ellie Day (@ellielaneday) December 18, 2015
Jason Day's wife Ellie posts statement after being injured sitting courtside: "I am okay!!" (via @ellielaneday) pic.twitter.com/e5S9b8ivEw
â SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 18, 2015
“Third, people are saying it’s a money grab or some crap which is obviously ridiculous.”
Her Aussie golfer husband was sitting by her side at the game, but avoided injury in the collision.
Ellie was transported to Metro Hospital in Cleveland.
Cleveland.com reported she hit the back of her head on the floor during the impact.
The Cavaliers called a time out when it became apparent that Ellie was injured, while James went to her side. Day appeared to motion to Cleveland players that his wife was ok, despite bearing the full brunt of a fast-moving, 113kg James.
Cavs Nation shared a video on their Twitter page of Day’s injured wife being applauded by Cleveland players and fans as she was taken from the arena.
The NBA reported that Ellie Day would remain in hospital overnight for observation.
The Cavs give a round of applause to Ellie Harvey (@ellielaneday), the wife of Jason Day (@JDayGolf). #GetW... https://t.co/PMO96qHySU
â Cavs Nation (@CavsNationNet) December 18, 2015
James allegedly looked “shaken” after returning to the Cleveland bench, and told Cleveland.com that Day appeared to be OK after the incident.
“She squeezed my hand, said she was fine,” James said. “I think she was just a little weary.”
“For me, obviously, her health is very important and hopefully she is doing well. The guys told me she’s doing great now. For me, just going for a loose ball, tried to keep the possession going, I just hate that that was the end result.”
A concerned LeBron couldn’t have been more remorseful for, apologising for the incident on his Twitter account.
Ellie Day I hope you're doing okay! My apologies! Hope u guys come back to another game soon. Love LJ!
â LeBron James (@KingJames) December 18, 2015
James said despite the incident, he still thinks courtside seats have their place in the game.
“I think it’s a great experience for our fans,” he said.
“I mean, that doesn’t happen much. It’s unfortunate it happened tonight, but that doesn’t happen much. Our fans are why our game is so great. Sitting courtside, it’s all part of the game. It’s pretty cool. If I was a fan, which I am a fan of the game, but, I would love to sit courtside and watch games.”
From all of us here @TheQArena, we hope you feel better quick & are back for a game soon @ellielaneday! â¤ï¸
â Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) December 18, 2015
Cavs coach David Blatt also expressed his concerns after the injury to the Aussie golfer’s wife.
“We all hope that she’s OK,” Blatt said.
“It’s always concerned me, the sideline seats. Always concerned me, because things like that, when you’re talking about players of this speed and physicality and effort level, it’s not a simple thing.”
Ellie Day has since been released from hospital after being cleared of any serious injury as a result of the collision with James.
According to ESPN, Day and his wife have a house in Columbus, Ohio and are regulars at Cavaliers games.
The pair have been married since 2009, and have a three-year-old-son Dash and a one-month-old daughter Lucy.
Jason Day is Australia’s highest ranked golfer, having seen a wealth of success in 2015. The current world No.2 won his first PGA Championship this year, as well as taking the top spot in The Barclays and the BMW Championship. The victories at the time gave him a world number one ranking for the first time in his career.
Originally published as Jason Day’s wife Ellie stretchered out of arena after colliding with LeBron James