Accused of Abusing Jayson Tatum in Public, Father Justin Breaks Silence on Celtics Star’s Harsh Upbringing

Accused of Abusing Jayson Tatum in Public, Father Justin Breaks Silence on Celtics Star’s Harsh Upbringing

Having a harsh upbringing is something many people can relate to but cannot speak about openly and no one knows this better than Jayson Tatum. The Boston Celtics star didn’t always enjoy a picture-perfect childhood. While some might assume that having a father like Justin, who comes from a basketball background, would have helped Jayson, the reality was quite the opposite. Tatum revealed that his upbringing was more of a nightmare, sharing troubling accounts of Justin physically abusing him in public. Now, his father explained his side of the story in the seventh episode of Netflix’s new docuseries, Starting 5.

“The co-parenting thing was tough,” Justin admitted. When he became a father to Jayson, he was 18, which explains why he called himself a “hard-headed young man”. He said, “I was a little harsh and tough on him at times, but it was for the fact that I needed him to understand that life is not gonna be easy. And so if you wanna love this game, put your all into it.”

He found that as the only solution to motivate Tatum toward success. Justin further claimed, “There is a button Jayson has that needs to be pushed, and when it’s pushed, unbelievable”. With the Netflix series showing glimpses of Tatum’s 2023/24 performance, Justin’s words were in clear sync with what he meant.

What Tatum senior didn’t realize was that his toughness strained the relationship with his son. In an interview with Graham Bensinger, Jayson confirmed that his father was mean to him to the point where he started scaring him. “I was scared of him, and he would, like, grab me by my shirt and pin me up against the wall and cuss me out for everybody. And I would be bawling, like, crying. He called me on my name. But then I would come out at halftime, and I would outscore the rest of the team, and we would win,” Tatum shared.

However, despite not having a normal childhood, JT showed gratitude to his father for giving him that extra push which made him achieve the most prestigious accolades in the league. But he doesn’t wish to have the same relationship with his son, Deuce, rather he treats him just the opposite.

Jayson Tatum has a different take on relationship with his son

Much like his father, Jayson Tatum became a dad quite early (19 years), which didn’t seem thrilling to him. He was just starting his career and he felt that it could take a toll on him. But once his baby boy was born, he melted.

Jayson Tatum with son

“I know — that having Deuce at that age grounded me. Because whatever decision I wanted to make, I had to make sure that he was taken care of. I couldn’t just up and go or do everything that some of my peers were doing because I had to go home and put him to bed,” Tatum told AP News. “Or for Father’s Day weekend I was going out of town, or I had to skip out on this trip with my friends because it was my weekend with him.”

Tatum believes that it isn’t a sacrifice that he is making, rather he chose to spend time with his little one over his companions to give him the special bond that he always missed having with Justin. While Jayson Tatum cannot mend his relationship with his father, he does his best to provide a better life for his mini-version.