Former NBA All-Star Jayson Williams’ daughters recently condemned St. John’s for inducting their father into the university’s Athletics Hall Of Fame.
Tryumph and Whizdom Williams wrote open letters criticizing the university’s decision to induct Jayson into their Hall Of Fame. In the letters, they accused their dad of neglecting them following his alleged role in the fatal 2002 shooting of a limousine driver. The two planned to send their letters to St. John’s, saying the school should be ashamed for inducting him during homecoming weekend on Oct. 21.
“Why are you being honored and inducted into the hall of fame when I’ve always had to earn my survival, let alone my success, in spite of you? St. John’s University — you should be ashamed of yourself,” Tryumph wrote. The 19-year-old, currently studying theater at DePaul, claimed he locked Whizdom in a trash chute and called St. John’s “possibly, fools, misusing money to honor Jayson Williams.”
Both daughters accused Jayson of neglect, saying he didn’t provide financial and emotional support for them. The power forward reportedly once signed a six-year, $86 million deal with the New Jersey Nets.
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Tryumph and Whizdom also accused their dad of verbally abusing them on several occasions. Whizdom, an 18-year-old Fashion Institute of Technology student, alleged that Jayson of being an alcoholic and “deadbeat father who lacks any sense of remorse.”
Despite the letters, St. John’s moved forward with their decision and included Williams in their latest ceremony anyway.
“Jayson Williams’s life journey is one that includes childhood trauma, time spent in a homeless shelter, addiction, incarceration, and recovery; issues that impact countless American families,” the university’s spokesperson, Brian Browne, wrote in an email statement to the AP.
“The family dynamic between Jayson and his children is not a matter that St. John’s University will discuss. Part of the recovery and redemption process is restoring trust, accepting help, and finding comfort and support in the journey and that, coupled with his athletic accomplishments, is what St. John’s University recognizes with Jayson Williams during this Homecoming weekend.”
The NBA legend has reportedly declined to comment on the matter.
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