Williams paid $2 million to Christofi’s family in a wrongful death suit in 2003, and served less than three years on charges of reckless manslaughter and a previous driving while intoxicated (DWI).
Now St. John’s University wants to honor Williams with their highest athletic achievement, their Hall of Fame.
Williams, currently 54, was the 21st overall selection in the 1990 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. After being traded just days before the start of the 1990-91 NBA regular season to the Philadelphia 76ers, Williams played two years before being traded to the New Jersey Nets. Williams would play the remaining eight years of his career in New Jersey, being selected as an All Star in 1998.
His career would be cut short on April 1, 1999, as his leg was shattered after colliding with Stephon Marbury in a game against the Atlanta Hawks. Williams needed a plate and five screws inserted into his leg, formalizing his retirement the following year.
Returning from a charity event on Valentine’s Day 2002, Williams, who had a knack of playing with guns, did not check the safety on one of his shotguns before closing it. In his 2001 book Loose Balls, Williams depicted several instances of playing with guns around other athletes, but with a humorous approach.
After being released from prison, Williams later founded the Rebound Institute in Florida, which St. John’s depicted as a success story. Nevermind that Williams was also tasered by New York police in April 2009 after being publicly intoxicated, arrested three weeks later for simple assault in Raleigh, North Carolina, and had another DWI in January 2010. The simple assault charges were later dropped.
Williams was not convicted of murder, but instead tied to several lesser charges, including trying to cover up the incident after removing his clothing, wiping the gun clean and placing it in Christofi’s hand and later jumping into his swimming pool.
Chlorine turns your eyes red, but cannot remove blood or gunshot residue from your skin if tested. NCIS was not yet on the air, but the original CSI had been going for two years already. You would think Williams could have watched a few episodes once his career ended.
For the Red Storm to try and turn Williams into a hero is equal parts negligence and absurd. His daughters Tryumph and Whizdom penned open letters to the school burning them in effigy for their decision to honor their (allegedly) absentee father. Tryumph is a student at DePaul University in Chicago, historically a rival of St. John’s in the Big East, while Whizdom attends the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.
Williams was second team All-Big East his junior season at St. John’s in 1989. The Redmen--as they were previously known during Williams’ attendance--advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 1990 falling to third-seeded Duke. Remember that this was a Bobby Hurley and Christian Laettner Duke squad that lost to UNLV in the National Championship.
Mookie Blaylock, who played in the NBA at the same time as Williams, was convicted of vehicular homicide in 2014, served three years after a plea agreement. Blaylock, who was ironically the original name of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members Pearl Jam, had a history of DUI convictions, but was not the cause of the fatal crash. His jersey was retired by Oklahoma University after a successful NBA career.
His honors came several years before his legal troubles, which is what makes St. John’s look even worse the more you analyze the Williams situation.
-JC24