"They didn't see that his teammate was the one who hit me" - Kermit Washington details the events that led to the infamous punch to Tomjanovich

Rudy Tomjanovich is known for being a champion head coach with the Houston Rockets in the 1990s. Still, he was also a prominent player during the 1970s. Rudy T was a five-time All-Star, but his time as an All-Star stopped after a life-threatening punch to the face by Kermit Washington .

Most people concluded that Washington was in the wrong for what he did because it was a sucker punch. Kermit argued that he did not mean to hurt Rudy because another Rockets player provoked him, and Tomjanovich was in the line of fire.

"It's never really made any difference what I said because images are much more powerful than words and a lot of people saw me hitting Rudy and him collapsing in a horrible way on TV," Washington said to SLAM Magazine. "They didn't see that his teammate was the one who hit me and elbowed me a couple of times to start it. Rudy came running over. Apparently, he was intending to break things up, but I just saw the uniform running at me, turned and swung. I made a horrible mistake."

Kermit had the enforcer's reputation

Washington was always a rough and physical player who the Los Angeles Lakers saw as the perfect partner for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kermit was the team's enforcer and a trusted figure within the Lakers organization for protecting his teammates from physicality.

This enforcer role led to his appearance in an NBA preview edition of Sports Illustrated, an issue focused on enforcer players. He was promoted as one of the most intimidating players in the league, even getting a picture of him shirtless in a fighting stance. The photoshoot was titled "Nobody, but Nobody, Is Gonna Hurt, My Teammates."

It became awkward to look back on what happened to Tomjanovich. There were some ominous signs with that SI magazine appearance. Still, it only worsened during the December 9, 1997, game between the Lakers and Rockets.

A mid-court scuffle happened after Kermiet and Houston's Kevin Kunnert jumped for a rebound. Kareem got involved and got physical with Kunnert while Washington stayed back to observe what was happening. The two started squabbling until it got violent with elbows, and then the deadly punch got thrown.

Kermit could not shake off the incident

Washington still played six more seasons in the NBA but struggled to get a job after his basketball career. The incident left a sour taste in the NBA community's mouths , and they refused to work with him.

Kermit has reflected on this and finds it unfortunate that people refused to work with him. It was a harrowing incident, but Washington believes he took full accountability and deserved some goodwill.

"I'm still viewed negatively so I've never gotten any of the coaching and assistant coaching jobs I've applied for even though I feel I have a lot to offer," Washington continued. "And even outside of basketball, I'll never reach the level that I should've reached because you have to get hired before you can advance."

There will always be a negative connotation to Kermit's name. It was an unfortunate incident, but that is what happens whenever something massive like that happens, as it will stay with him for the rest of his life afterward.

Related: Kermit Washington speaks about how Magic Johnson ushered in a new era: "Magic Johnson completely changed the game"