Sports Legend Jay Williams Explores New Territory in NPR Podcast

Williams will forever be associated with that tragic event in June 2003 After that his NBA career started to end He had earned a reputation earlier on when he led Duke University to a NCAA National Championship and won that season39s Naismith and John R Wooden awards as the nation39s top player After the accident Williams put his mind body and soul into returning to the court but the injuries limited his ability to perform as an elite athlete He struggled through bouts of addiction and attempted suicideNow nearly 19 years later he is a top ESPN analyst He39s also an accomplished author business owner investor and as of this past January host of his new podcastIn The Limits with Jay Williams he doesn39t hide his difficult journey but instead uses his personal experiences to help others The episodes focus on other stories of reinvention overcoming unforeseen obstacles and how those successes mean so much more than wealth and stardomquotIf the accident never happened there39s no way in hell I am the father I am todayquot Williams told me quotI wouldn39t be close to the man I am today I39m so much morequotWilliams explained how his focus at ESPN differs from what he39s doing on the NPR podcast quotMy platform on ESPN allows me to continue to develop sensitivities around how we speak about the athlete in today39s worldquot he said That involves understanding quotthe complexity of the situation and who a person is and how they39re going about their business In sports interpersonal skills are always on display Through the podcast I translate those principles to everyday business principles and how mastery of those skills makes successful executivesquotFrom an early age Williams had a special vantage point into the business In fact his parents saw his potential in much wider terms than athletics They prioritized education Williams graduated from Duke in three years And his father was an executive at American Express Even before Williams came out second overall in the 2002 NBA draft he and his dad met with accomplished business leaders Among them was AmEx CEO Ken Chenault quotWhen I was in college we39d invite different CEOs VCs or hedge fund founders to games and pick their brains about what I want to do with my brand and the leverage I would havequot he recalledThose conversations nurtured Williams39 insatiable curiosity and he realized early on that he wanted and needed to be CEO of his own brand and his own venturesIn addition to his work in front of the camera or behind a microphone Williams is an author and the CEO for the Rising Stars Youth Foundation He39s a member of several boards including the John Wooden Awards Committee and USA Basketball And he was featured in Best Shot a docuseries distributed by YouTube and executive produced by the sports marketing businessman and media personality Maverick Carter and basketball great LeBron JamesWilliams39 first guest on the podcast was Carter who opened up about battling through the stereotype of being James39 childhood friend and how they built a production and entertainment company The SpringHill CoHis podcast guests discuss some of the challenges they39ve faced such as how they once defined success with expectations set and limits imposed The conversations don39t shy away from difficult topics and provide an opportunity for reflection regardless of industry expertise or degree of experienceOther guests have included the Dallas Mavericks owner Shark Tank star and billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban who discussed his views on cryptocurrency Williams also featured actress Gabrielle Union who discussed how she39s had to redefine her life as a black actress given her history of sexual assault and other challenges Another guest was Miami Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores who spoke with Williams just two days after filing a racial discrimination lawsuit regarding the NFL39s head coach hiring practices In conversation with Williams Flores talked about the implications of his move which might be the beginning of his own reinventionFor Williams the choice of working with NPR was personal quotI grew up in a household in which my father had NPR on every single weekend morningquot he said quotSo you can only imagine the type of conversations I had with him about social issues about business and finance or about perspectives on international affairsquotNPR has helped me understand what it means to be Black to be educated to not be stereotyped what it means just to be Jay Williams and recognize that39s enoughquot he concludedClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Sports Legend Jay Williams Explores New Territory in NPR Podcast

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Robert DiGisi

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Sports Legend Jay Williams Explores New Territory in NPR Podcast

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