Johni Broome reveals what went through his mind while slapping Morgan Freeman

One of the funnier moments of the college basketball slate on Saturday took place at the Auburn–Ole Miss game, when a courtside mishap resulted in famous actor Morgan Freeman getting his hand slapped away by Auburn big man Johni Broome.

Broome received an in-bounds pass near the sideline and had to leap to throw it back in play.

As he did so, a hand reached out and grabbed his jersey, holding on well after Broome had steadied himself and avoided falling into the bench. Naturally, Broome didn’t take too kindly to that.

He swatted away the hand before quickly turning around to see who was holding him.

Broome had to be absolutely floored to learn it was Morgan Freeman, and his reaction was, well, exactly what you’d expect of someone horrified that they’d just slapped one of Hollywood’s all-time greats.

“I thought it was an Ole Miss fan like just grabbing my jersey, like holding onto me,” Broome said. “I kind of just got the hand off. But I saw who it was, and like I’m a big movie guy. I probably watched one of his movies on the plane coming here.

“But I realized it was him, I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m a big fan, sorry.’ He just said, ‘Just keep playing.'”

Johni Broome says he thought Morgan Freeman was an Ole Miss fan grabbing his jersey 😅 pic.twitter.com/OQ9Ez5vwnV

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) February 4, 2024

Broome would continue the game, which was already in the waning moments at the time of his now-infamous slap. He finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three blocks, thoroughly filling up the stat sheet.

Auburn would go on to win 91-77. But the moment certainly stuck with Broome.

After a brief timeout in the game, Broome made sure to head back over to Freeman to make sure there were no hard feelings about his on-the-fly swat.

“And you know, I came back out of there again and I’m like, ‘I’m sorry again,'” Broome said. “He’s like, ‘You’re all good, just keep playing.’

“Very good guy. Love him.”

Suffice it to say, Broome now has a story that can top 99% of his college basketball peers. After all, it’s not every day you get to slap a Hollywood celebrity and walk away with both parties laughing about it.