Syracuse basketball player Michael Carter-Williams discusses mall incident

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Syracuse's Michael Carter-Williams has a conversation with coach Jim Boeheim at practice Tuesday.

(Photo by Dennis Nett / The Post-Standard)

Syracuse University basketball player Michael Carter-Williams described an incident that occurred at Lord & Taylor in Destiny USA on Sunday as “a misunderstanding.”

Carter-Williams addressed the incident prior to the Syracuse basketball team’s practice on Tuesday.

“The whole thing was really a misunderstanding,” Carter-Williams said. “We handled it there and that’s really the end of it.”

Carter-Williams’ possible involvement in an incident at the mall in Syracuse became Internet fodder as photos allegedly showing a man leading Carter-Williams, whose hands are behind his back, circulated on social media sites Twitter and Instagram.

On Sunday, Sgt. Tom Connellan, speaking for Syracuse police, said the store did not contact Syracuse police on Sunday and that Carter-Williams was not arrested.

Regarding the photos sent out via Instagram, Carter-Williams said, “It looked worse than it was. That’s about it. It was a misunderstanding. It’s all worked out. I’m not worried about it or looking back on it. I’m looking ahead to practice today and the next game.”

Carter-Williams declined to go into detail about the incident. He did say that his mother called him on Sunday night after seeing the photos.

“She was concerned,” Carter-Williams said. “As soon as I told her what had happened, that it was a misunderstanding and it was over with, she was OK.”

Carter-Williams said he spoke to SU head coach Jim Boeheim, who was on a recruiting trip to Florida, on Monday.

“I spoke to coach yesterday,” Carter-Williams said. “He asked me what happened and I told him and that was it. He said ‘All right, I’ll see you Tuesday.’”

A Destiny USA mall security representative said Lord & Taylor did not call for assistance on Sunday. A Lord & Taylor representative had no comment.

Mike Waters can be reached at mwaters@syracuse.com or 315-416-6031.

Donna Ditota contributed to this story.

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