Back-to-back family tragedies have forced former Oakland High star Money Williams to put his college basketball career on hold.
“Imagine losing both the king and queen of your household within a year,” Williams wrote in his GoFundMe campaign post. “That’s the heartbreaking reality our family is facing.
“With the passing of both our parents, my older sister Mo’Ney and I have become responsible for our three younger siblings: Joanna, Jermaine, and Jeremiah Benson. The weight of this responsibility, coupled with our grief, is immense.”
The Montana basketball team said it is supporting Williams during this time.
“Coach (Travis) DeCuire, the Montana basketball program, and all of Grizzly Athletics are allowing him time and space while providing what assistance they can as he goes through this unimaginable tragedy,” Montana assistant director of communications Jackson Wagner wrote in a statement to this news organization on Thursday. “The main focus is on his health and well-being.”
According to a press release from GoFundMe communications manager Jeff Platt, Williams was forced to choose between leaving Montana’s basketball team “or risk these children being separated in the foster care system.”
In his senior season at Oakland High, Williams was an all-Oakland Athletic League and all-Bay Area News Group first-team selection.
He averaged 17.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.9 steals per game in his final season at Oakland. In the 2023 Division III state championship game, Williams scored 22 points to lead Oakland to its first state basketball championship in school history in a 59-43 win over Buena-Ventura.
Just a few games into his freshman year at Montana, Williams got word of his father’s death after a game at Nevada. Williams contemplated leaving the team then, but decided to finish the rest of the season.
“At just 18 years old, I was suddenly faced with the tough decision of whether to continue chasing my dreams or set them aside to support my family,” Williams said in the GoFundMe post.
Three days after his father’s death, Williams had one of his best games of the season as he scored 21 points and nine rebounds in a home win over San Jose State.
He went on to play 12 games, averaging 13.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game before he suffered a foot injury that ended his season.
Williams was poised to follow up on his solid start to his freshman season, but he was then dealt another tragedy earlier this month.
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On Oct. 12, his mother Latoya Bailey died in her sleep – 319 days after the death of his father.
“This unexpected tragedy has left my siblings and me at a loss for words,” Williams wrote.
Williams went on to write that Bailey was the “heart and soul of the Williams family.”
“Through her actions, she taught all five of us the value of hard work, resilience, and the profound power of unconditional love,” Williams said. “Every sacrifice she made was a testament to her fierce dedication. She inspired us to dream big, making the impossible seem possible.”
Donations
Williams and his family have set up a GoFundMe page to “cover funeral expenses for our mother, provide for our younger siblings’ immediate needs, ensure stability as we adjust to our new family dynamic and support educational expenses for all siblings.”
The GoFundMe, which was created Oct. 14, had received more than $60,000 in donations as of Thursday afternoon. The Williams siblings aim to raise $75,000. You can donate here.