Monty Williams Speaks at Wife funeral ***MUST SEE***
A surprising number of my friends are not fans of the NBA, its hip hop mentality, the full-body tattoos, ridiculous salaries and lack of player loyalty.
But like any professional sport, there are good people representing the game with inspiring stories and dare I admit it role models who teach us about this mystery called life.
Monty Williams is front and center among that group.
The former Notre Dame star, current NBA Oklahoma City assistant coach and the father of five children, opened our eyes to what faith and forgiveness mean after losing his wife to injuries suffered in a car accident Feb. 9 in Oklahoma City.
Ingrid Williams was killed and three of her children were injured when a car going more than 90 mph (78 at the moment of impact) crossed into her lane on South Western Avenue and hit Ingrid"s car head on, according to the Associated Press. Ingrid was 44.
Susannah Donaldson, the woman driving the other car with a dog in her lap, also died. She was 52.
We"ve all had a driver pull alongside or zip past us with a dog in their lap, or a cup of coffee in one hand and cell phone in the other, trying to navigate two tons of steel.
We shake our heads in disgust, utter a few curse words and fear the worst.
Monty Williams chose instead to forgive during a moving eulogy last Thursday at Crossings Community Church in Oklahoma City. His deep faith, which he said was "re-established" while at Notre Dame, has kept him from going crazy with grief.
"Everyone is praying for me and my family, which is right, but let us not forget that there were two people in this situation. And that family needs prayer as well. That family didnt wake up wanting to hurt my wife," Williams said in a video that has gone viral. "We have no ill will towards that family.
"This is hard for my family, but this will work out. And my wife would punch me if I were to sit up here and whine about what is going on. That doesn"t take away the pain, but it will work out because G*d causes all things to work out. You just can"t quit; you can"t give in."
An estimated 900 people, including many NBA players, coaches and staff members, attended the memorial service as Williams said goodbye to Ingrid, who was his college sweetheart at Notre Dame.
Williams said his wife is where "we all need to be, and I"m envious of that. But I got five crumb snatchers to deal with," he added, drawing laughter from the mourners.
Among those in attendance at the memorial were Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers, the entire Oklahoma City organization and San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, a 1966 Merrillville grad.
Williams played for Popovich in San Antonio, one of six teams during his nine-year NBA career, and later came aboard as an assistant.
After helping the Spurs to a championship in 2005, Williams had an opportunity to join Nate McMillan"s Portland staff and was given Pop"s blessing.
Williams later coached the New Orleans Pelicans from 2010-15 before joining OKC.
The genesis for his faith came at Notre Dame, when the 6-foot-8, 225-pounder with a 40-inch vertical believed his chances for an NBA career were over after being diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy prior to his sophomore year.
Doctors warned intense activity might cause a fatal heart attack. So Monty and Ingrid prayed together while he stayed in school, determined to earn a degree.
He would often refer to Notre Dame as his "sanctuary."
Then in 1992, doctors put him through a battery of stress tests and found no trace of what is known as HCM.
Williams starred two more seasons, was drafted by the Knicks and took with him a new understanding of faith.
It"s his life preserver through these most troubling waters.
This column solely represents the writer"s opinion. Reach him at Al.Hamnik@nwi.com
Source: http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/columnists/al-hamnik/al-hamnik-monty-williams-teaches-us-to-never-quit/article_d55758ab-9fa6-573c-8918-5f623a1ddc5d.html
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