Sonics’ Payton Says Waitress Was Disrespectful

Seattle SuperSonics all-star guard Gary Payton spoke for the first time Friday about an incident early last Sunday at an Orlando (Fla.) Waffle House restaurant.

“Basically, it was just like this,” he said: “We went into the Waffle House and we were talking loudly and my voice carries. The waitress told us to ‘shut up.’ And the way she said it was disrespectful. I understand that as celebrities we have to watch what we do, but we should still be able to be treated right.”

Orlando guard Brian Shaw responded to the waitress’s concerns about whether the group could afford to pay the bill by telling her that he could afford to buy the place. Payton said he didn’t talk to her.

“I didn’t have to say anything,” he said. “I was very upset, but Brian said what we had to say. I’ll support Brian in every way possible… . People are seeing it like we’re trying to bring down a poor lady, but if she had said, ‘Please be quiet, other people around you are disrupted,’ it would be one thing.

But she came to us, four or five black people, and said, ‘Shut up and whose gonna pay for the bill?”’

The police arrived after the group paid the bill. No arrests were made. Word of the verbal exchange spread after the waitress contacted the media. Initial media reports identifying Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Kidd as one of the restaurant patrons were inaccurate.