Eight years ago, then-NBA star Jayson Williams was charged with possession of a gun without a permit and reckless endangerment after he was caught shooting a semi in the New Jersey Meadowlands parking lot after a game.
Prosecutors tried to argue that Williams had a criminal past that should have prevented him from striking any sort of deal that would keep him from being put on trial. They were unsuccessful, and Williams avoided a felony conviction by running an ad campaign featuring his photo with a message urging kids to “Shoot for the top. Shoot for your future. Shoot baskets, not guns.”
While the ad may have had some effect in deterring at least some kids from thinking guns are cool, the punishment was simply not appropriate.
Athletes — and people with loads of money in general — shouldn’t be able to buy their way out of the punishments doled out to the rest of society.
Even though all indications point toward the 34-year-old NBC analyst having a role in the shooting death of limo driver Gus Christofi, we can’t assume he’s guilty until he’s been tried. Regardless of whether the grand jury does finds him guilty of the manslaughter charges he faces, one cannot help but speculate whether such an accident would have ever occurred if Williams hadn’t been let off the hook in the past.
A 12-gauge double-barrel shotgun, let alone an entire gun cabinet, doesn’t have a place in the home of anyone who has been charged with unlawfully possessing a weapon. Whether Williams was just twirling the gun around while giving a tour of his estate or was involved in something more sinister, the gun shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
It’s almost cliché these days to refute the idea that guns don’t kill people, people kill people, but I’m going to mention it anyway. Any number of accidents could have been prevented if those guns weren’t in Williams’ mansion in the first place.
There is a problem in our society when people who do not have money or fame end up being treated differently under the eyes of the law than those who happen to have made big bucks as star athletes for the New Jersey Nets.
Williams’ lawyer stated, “The death of Mr. Christofi is a tragic accident, but it was still an accident.”
We have no reason not to believe him until Williams is tried, but just because something was an accident does not mean that it couldn’t have been avoided. If that judge back in 1994 didn’t think it was a good idea to let Williams run an ad campaign rather than be tried, perhaps Williams would have learned something from his punishment and would not have pulled a gun out of a cabinet while showing people around his place.
What kind of host shows off his shotgun, anyway? I’m sure there was much more to see at his luxurious estate. According to the prosecutor in this case, among the 12 guests Williams had that night were two children, ages 14 and six.
Perhaps I’m wrong. Perhaps having been caught possessing a weapon without a permit in the past is an indication that Williams would own a gun regardless of whether the law said he could. Perhaps the law did say he could, and these guns were all licensed. In any case, I don’t believe someone who has ever been found dangerously wielding a firearm should ever be allowed to own one again.
I can’t help but suppose that Williams would be more careful about showing off his guns if he had actually done time for his previous offense, as anyone else would have in the same situation.
When incidents like this one occur, our entire society is presented with a wake-up call. We need to examine whether the law treats everyone equally. Not just anyone can agree to represent himself in advertisements rather than deal with the process of being put on trial and punished accordingly.
If we keep letting athletes go with just a slap on the wrist, it’s partially our foul when problems escalate.
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