Tweet
What we can learn about life from Darrent Williams’ death
By Deion Sanders | Monday, January 8, 2007, 11:00 AM
As an athlete, you can spend your life on a natural high that makes you start believing you’re invincible.
You start believing no one can beat you. That no one can hurt you. That no one can touch you. You start believing you are “the man.” Why wouldn’t you believe you’re omnipotent?
After all, everyone around you is on your payroll. They don’t tell you the truth — only what you want to hear. If you proclaim there’s a white elephant in the corner of the living room, then there’s a white elephant in the living room.
But all you have to do is look at how quickly Darrent Williams’ life ended on New Year’s Eve to realize that’s a fantasy.
Williams was killed when someone unloaded a hail of gunfire on his white Hummer limo about 2 a.m. He was hit once in the neck.
Just like that a promising young cornerback for the Denver Broncos lost his life. His children — 7-year-old Darius and 4-year-old Jaelyn — lost their father. Rosalind Williams lost her only son.
It makes no sense.
Last week, I received phone calls from 12 Baltimore Ravens who brought in the new year at church. I wondered if I could have impacted Darrent in such a way that he would’ve never been at the club that fateful night.
Some people think athletes and celebrities are targets. I’m torn on that issue, but I do know that just because I could run with a football and hit a baseball every now and then didn’t mean I was immune to the trials and tribulations of life.
Like others, I’ve learned life is full of peaks and valleys. Now, I understand you can’t appreciate the peaks without going through the valleys. Hopefully, while you’re in the midst of one of those valleys you experience something that makes you look in the mirror and finally separate fantasy from reality.
That’s what happened to me. That’s when I started to understand something was missing in my life. You can have a lot of things — cars, women, jewelry, mansions — but things don’t bring happiness and peace. To be honest, those things controlled me; I didn’t control them. That’s why we must enjoy ourselves and live life to the fullest while why we’re here. The only thing certain in life is death.
Darrent’s death can turn into a positive if other young people use it to examine the direction of their own lives. I still remember the impact Magic Johnson’s revelation that he had AIDS had on me. I was playing for the Atlanta Falcons when I heard the news, and I know how it impacted me. It made me re-examine my views on sex and women.
I hope Darrent’s death has the same impact on other young people, whether they’re athletes or not. Maybe this will make them think about who they party with, how they party and why they party.
We often ask ourselves why would God allow tragedies like Darrent’s murder to happen. The reality is that life is all about making choices. What God gave us is the ability to make a choice and the ability to make decisions.
We shouldn’t question God. We should question the gunman or gunmen. It was their decision to take a young man’s life — probably because of some inconsequential beef inside the club. Maybe somebody stepped on somebody’s shoe. Or somebody looked at someone the wrong way. It was probably something that trivial.
Now, a father of two is dead. All we can hope is that Darrent’s death will give others a greater appreciation for life. So take a minute today to tell that person you take for granted that you love them.
God willing, I’ll hollah at you next week.
By Deion Sanders | Monday, January 8, 2007, 11:00 AM
As an athlete, you can spend your life on a natural high that makes you start believing you’re invincible.
You start believing no one can beat you. That no one can hurt you. That no one can touch you. You start believing you are “the man.” Why wouldn’t you believe you’re omnipotent?
After all, everyone around you is on your payroll. They don’t tell you the truth — only what you want to hear. If you proclaim there’s a white elephant in the corner of the living room, then there’s a white elephant in the living room.
But all you have to do is look at how quickly Darrent Williams’ life ended on New Year’s Eve to realize that’s a fantasy.
Williams was killed when someone unloaded a hail of gunfire on his white Hummer limo about 2 a.m. He was hit once in the neck.
Just like that a promising young cornerback for the Denver Broncos lost his life. His children — 7-year-old Darius and 4-year-old Jaelyn — lost their father. Rosalind Williams lost her only son.
It makes no sense.
Last week, I received phone calls from 12 Baltimore Ravens who brought in the new year at church. I wondered if I could have impacted Darrent in such a way that he would’ve never been at the club that fateful night.
Some people think athletes and celebrities are targets. I’m torn on that issue, but I do know that just because I could run with a football and hit a baseball every now and then didn’t mean I was immune to the trials and tribulations of life.
Like others, I’ve learned life is full of peaks and valleys. Now, I understand you can’t appreciate the peaks without going through the valleys. Hopefully, while you’re in the midst of one of those valleys you experience something that makes you look in the mirror and finally separate fantasy from reality.
That’s what happened to me. That’s when I started to understand something was missing in my life. You can have a lot of things — cars, women, jewelry, mansions — but things don’t bring happiness and peace. To be honest, those things controlled me; I didn’t control them. That’s why we must enjoy ourselves and live life to the fullest while why we’re here. The only thing certain in life is death.
Darrent’s death can turn into a positive if other young people use it to examine the direction of their own lives. I still remember the impact Magic Johnson’s revelation that he had AIDS had on me. I was playing for the Atlanta Falcons when I heard the news, and I know how it impacted me. It made me re-examine my views on sex and women.
I hope Darrent’s death has the same impact on other young people, whether they’re athletes or not. Maybe this will make them think about who they party with, how they party and why they party.
We often ask ourselves why would God allow tragedies like Darrent’s murder to happen. The reality is that life is all about making choices. What God gave us is the ability to make a choice and the ability to make decisions.
We shouldn’t question God. We should question the gunman or gunmen. It was their decision to take a young man’s life — probably because of some inconsequential beef inside the club. Maybe somebody stepped on somebody’s shoe. Or somebody looked at someone the wrong way. It was probably something that trivial.
Now, a father of two is dead. All we can hope is that Darrent’s death will give others a greater appreciation for life. So take a minute today to tell that person you take for granted that you love them.
God willing, I’ll hollah at you next week.
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/conte...ut_life_f.html
Comment