Rudy Tomjanovich
Kermit Washington incident
#### Kermit Washington incident

During a game on December 9, 1977, Tomjanovich was punched by [Kermit Washington](/wiki/Kermit_Washington "Kermit Washington") of the [Los Angeles Lakers](/wiki/Los_Angeles_Lakers "Los Angeles Lakers") as Tomjanovich ran to stop a fight at center court. The blow shattered Tomjanovich's face and inflicted life\-threatening head and spinal injuries, leaving him sidelined for five months.Kirkpatrick, Patrick. [Shattered and Shaken](http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1093209/index.htm) , *Sports Illustrated*, January 2, 1978, accessed December 16, 2010\. He eventually made a full recovery and was selected for the NBA All\-Star Game the following [1978–79 season](/wiki/1978%E2%80%9379_NBA_season "1978–79 NBA season"). The incident and its aftermath are recounted in the [John Feinstein](/wiki/John_Feinstein "John Feinstein") book *The Punch: One Night, Two Lives, and the Fight That Changed Basketball Forever*, as well as in Tomjanovich's 1997 autobiography *A Rocket at Heart: My Life and My Team*.


What happened during a game on December 9, 1977?