Kendrick Perkins is not apologizing for what happened at his son’s AAU tournament this weekend. In fact, the former NBA champion made it clear he would handle the same situation exactly the same way again.

Video from a heated altercation during a 17U AAU matchup in Oklahoma quickly spread online over the weekend. But instead of backing away from the confrontation, Perkins publicly doubled down afterward, insisting his reaction came from protecting players in his program.

TMZ Sports obtained footage from the incident at the Trae Young Family Athletic Center in Norman, Oklahoma, during a game between YPG Perkins and Swaveway Playaz.

The video showed Perkins in a heated shouting match with members of the opposing sideline while multiple people attempted to physically hold him back.

Perkins later explained his side of the altercation, saying a player from the opposing team, whom he described as “7-foot and almost 400 pounds,” body-slammed one of his players during the game.

According to Perkins, he immediately told the opposing coach to control the situation, but tensions escalated after the coach “got smart” with him during the exchange.

Norman Police Department officers working the event as off-duty security stepped in to calm the situation. Authorities confirmed that no charges were filed and no criminal wrongdoing was found.

Perkins also noted afterward that both sides eventually “dapped each other up” once emotions cooled. After TMZ published the footage, Perkins responded on X with zero regret.

“Damn right and it probably won’t be the last time!” he wrote Wednesday. “I’m going to protect every single kid in my organization like they’re my own.”

His representative, Kennard McGuire, defended the reaction in a similar tone. “Kendrick is very passionate about everything, especially when it involves his kids,” McGuire said. “We’re not going to pour water on an imaginary fire.”

Perkins has become deeply invested in the youth basketball world over the last several years, coaching AAU full-time while helping develop his son Kenxton Perkins, one of the top-ranked prospects in the Class of 2030.

Earlier this year on the “Road Trippin’” podcast, Perkins argued with Richard Jefferson about modern youth basketball culture, insisting that high-level competition should never be softened for young players.

To Perkins, AAU basketball is not simply a side hobby after retirement. It is something he treats with the same intensity he once brought to the NBA for 14 seasons.

Perkins’ Reaction Also Exposed a Complicated Double Standard

The moment also reopened an interesting contrast involving Perkins himself.

Last year, Perkins strongly criticized John Haliburton after Tyrese Haliburton’s father confronted Giannis Antetokounmpo during the Pacers-Bucks playoff series.

“No way in hell he should be allowed to walk on the floor,” Perkins said at the time on PTI, arguing that sports parents often become too emotionally involved while “living through their children.”

Now, less than a year later, Perkins found himself at the center of a viral courtside confrontation of his own after needing to be restrained during an AAU game.

Perkins has also repeatedly criticized the broader AAU structure itself.

During an appearance on the “All the Smoke” podcast, he argued that youth basketball in America has become too focused on nonstop games instead of player development, something he believes has helped European prospects close the gap with American talent.

“Hell nah, it’s not an overreaction, it’s a real thing,” Perkins said while discussing the issue.

That larger philosophy helps explain why he reacted so aggressively during the weekend incident. In Perkins’ mind, protecting his players and program is part of the responsibility that comes with coaching at that level.

The altercation resulted in no charges, no suspensions, and no formal punishment. But Perkins already made one thing crystal clear afterward: if he believes one of his players is being put in danger, he has no intention of backing down the next time either.