Jayson Williams - The Price Of Happiness

I was with Jayson Williams last week.

The former New York Nets basketball star now lives on Hilton Head Island, and he was playing flanker back on the Jock’s Sports Bar & Grill adult football team that was playing for the league championship. Yes, flag football. It’s what we do to pass the time down here in South Carolina, where many retired sports stars live. In fact, former New York Jets Curtis Martin and ex-basketball college legend Charles Shackleford, have all signed up to play for the same team Jayson played for this season.

I took the picture you are looking at last week just before the football match. Jayson seemed finally over all the negative press from the accidental shooting of his limousine driver, and he seemed to be past the depression of having one’s wife file for divorce. He was laughing with the rest of “the guys” that play for the local tavern’s team, and told me that he would love to mentor the Hardeeville High School men’s basketball team next year when school resumes.

And, what could be wrong with Williams’ life? The last contract he signed with the Nets was over $60mil, he lived in a beautiful house on Hilton Head Island, and drove a white tricked out Bentley when he went to the Hilton Head Diner for dinner.

Fame, money, and playing football with your buddies.

How happy can a guy be?

Well, New York City police tasered Jayson today in his hotel room, after he freaked out in what was described as a “violent, suicidal rage”. Williams was rushed to St. Vincent’s Hospital, in handcuffs, after the police contained him. They also found suicide notes and empty pill bottles littering his hotel room. One of the notes supposedly said “tell my mother that I love her”.It was reported that he had called his mother around 1 a.m., and began around then taking sleeping pills and anti-depressants. A friend that was staying with him called the police around 4 a.m. and alerted them to the developing problem. Police had to break the door of his hotel room down to get inside.

Last week, football with the guys.

Today, suicide notes, tasered by police, and handcuffed to your hospital bed.

My wife’s grandmother always used to say “money can’t buy you happiness”. We knew she didn’t originate that saying, and most of the time we didn’t agree with her. Surely, money could do the trick.

Jayson Williams reminded us today that it can’t.