Detroit Lions' Jameson Williams avoids gun charge. He should not blow latest chance

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DETROIT − Jameson Williams won’t face a gun charge. It’s a gift and it’s one the Detroit Lions receiver needs to appreciate and understand fully because second chances, especially in the NFL, don’t come around very often. 

Let’s face it, Williams is well past his second chance in his young career after serving NFL suspensions for violating league policies on gambling and performance-enhancing substances. 

Williams’ stature on the team has undoubtedly helped. The Lions invested heavily in him by trading up to draft him 12^th overall in 2022. The speedy outside threat has mostly made good on his promise and this season is second on the team in receiving yards and touchdowns. 

Williams played on his high-profile stature at about 1 a.m. Oct. 8 on Detroit’s east side, when Detroit Police handcuffed him and were preparing to arrest him after they learned he had a registered gun in the floorboard but no concealed pistol license during a traffic stop. Williams was a passenger in the car his brother was driving that police pulled over for speeding. Williams’ brother also had a registered gun in the floorboard, though he had a CPL. 

“Bro, I play for the Detroit Lions,” Williams pleaded with an officer as he was being handcuffed, according to body cam footage obtained by WXYZ-TV. “... I’ve got practice in the morning.” 

Williams was released after a series of events unfolded that cast doubt on the police’s handling of the situation, which involved a sergeant with Lions wallpaper on his cell phone chastising the officers who detained Williams and called a lieutenant “a (expletive) hero” for giving the order to release Williams. 

On Monday, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy issued a statement saying she could find no legal basis to charge Williams “because the case law is silent regarding the specific issue.” In the statement, Worthy also asked the state legislature to look more closely at the issue regarding how many weapons a CPL covers. 

Technically, he walks

I’m not a legal scholar, but it seems Williams avoided a potential five-year felony charge on what came down to a technicality. Of course, you can never discount the police’s deferential treatment of Williams. Or even perhaps even Worthy’s decision to avoid charging a popular athlete on a wildly popular team and avoiding any political repercussions, especially if you believe George Orwell’s astute observation in 1946 that “all issues are political issues.” 

Justice is supposed to be blind, but the actions of the police and the decision of the prosecutor in this case make it seem as though justice in Detroit just might have been dispensed through Honolulu Blue-colored glasses. 

Even though Worthy emphasized in her statement that Williams wasn’t given special treatment, does any regular person believe if they were in the same situation they would have gotten off scot-free after initially being handcuffed and told they were being arrested? 

If all you care about is Williams as a football player and what he can do for your favorite NFL team or how many fantasy points he can rack up for you, this is likely an issue you hope everyone just puts behind them. 

But if you care about Williams beyond the football field and what his future holds after he narrowly avoided serious repercussions, it’s important that Williams understands how close he was to landing in big trouble. 

The problem is I’m not sure he does, even though I asked him Tuesday how well he understood the importance of not finding himself in this kind of situation again. 

“Yeah, I understand the situation fully, you know?” he said. “But that's not what's on my mind right now.

"I'm kind of past it, you know? I got the news, the good news, you know? I'm just focused on playing ball again, you know, playing ball, getting back on the field.” 

I understand people want to move past embarrassing situations quickly, but I didn’t sense much contrition from Williams. It sounded more like relief than a sincere recognition of possibly losing all that he’s worked for. 

Stands by his man

Dan Campbell has stood by Williams, 23, through every incident and has consistently voiced belief in his young player’s desire and ability to grow. Campbell said Tuesday he thought Williams understood the seriousness of his latest incident. 

“Yeah, I think he does,” he said. “I do. I think every one of these that come up, you don’t want them to come up, but I do think that he’s learning and he’s growing from these. I do. So, yeah, I do. I do.” 

It says a lot that Campbell used the phrase “every one of these that come up” as an indicator of repetitive nature of Williams’ actions. Standing in the locker room Tuesday and listening to Williams explain himself yet again, over yet another transgression, felt like deja vu. 

It’s getting old. Williams’ actions and his explanations and the Lions’ own hopelessly optimistic view of a player who keeps finding himself in trouble are growing tiresome. 

Here’s my advice to Williams: Don't blow this chance you’ve been given, because no one in the NFL ever tells you when you’ve used your last chance. If that ever comes to pass and you’re suddenly discarded, you’ll be shocked at how different the world will react when you tell them: “I’m Jameson Williams. I used to play for the Lions.” 

Contact Carlos Monarrez at cmonarrez@freepress.com and follow him on X @cmonarrez.