Paralyzed Safety Visits Teammates, Stadium
April 27, 2002
By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Sports Writer
SEATTLE- Curtis Williams sat in his wheelchair high above the Husky Stadium turf, watching as his former Washington teammates warmed up for their annual spring game.
The band played, but the stadium just didn't have the same feel for Williams as a football Saturday in the fall. Most of the bleachers were empty.
"It's just the spring game," he said with a smile. "I'll come back for a real game. Then it will probably be emotional."
Williams returned to the stadium Saturday for the first time since he was paralyzed in a game at Stanford during the 2000 season. He was in town for a benefit dinner Thursday night that raised $30,000 for the Curtis Williams Fund.
"I've been lucky," he said. "I'm thankful for the support of the city and the school."
Williams, who turns 24 next Saturday, was injured in a head-to-head hit on Stanford running back Kerry Carter near the Cardinal goal line in an October 2000 game.
Now a quadriplegic, he lives in Fresno, Calif., with his older brother, David. Williams is under 24-hour care five days a week.
"It was neat to have him back," coach Rick Neuheisel said Thursday after seeing Williams. "It's hard to believe this is the first time he's returned. I'm very proud of Curtis, as I'm sure everyone associated with Washington football is in terms of how he's handled the adversity.
"I don't know if given a similar set of circumstances that I'd be as tough as he is. It's just a remarkable resiliency that he's shown."
Kicker John Anderson said the team was thrilled to have Williams back on campus.
"Everybody knows him and what he's been through," Anderson said. "He's a special kid, how strong he's been through the whole thing. Your heart goes out to the kid because he's been strong in adversity. I think everyone can learn something from Curtis Williams.
"He can smile every day with what he's been through and it makes you feel lucky you can still play football and you want to play like he did."
Williams is six classes short of earning his degree from Washington in American Ethnic Studies. He plans to take correspondence courses and complete the work in about a year.
He is gradually improving his ability to speak, using a breathing device strapped under his chin.
"It just takes time," he said. "I have to get a breath to talk."
Williams was scheduled to return to Fresno on Sunday. He said he plans to attend games at Washington this season and also some of the Huskies' road games in California.
"One of the things that has to be remembered is we can't go back and fix what happened or change the physics of what took place on the field at Stanford Stadium" in October 2000, Neuheisel said. "But we certainly can provide all the resources so that he can still be challenged and still be excited about goals that can be accomplished.
"That is what has been our motivation other than to be there for a friend. He's a great ambassador for our program."
What is Williams' assessment of the Huskies?
"I'm not sure yet," he said. "They've got a lot of talent."
