Former NFL Touchdown Hero on Life Support After Construction Site Accident
He is unconscious after a “major accident at work.”
Mike Williams played in the NFL from 2010 to 2014 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and his hometown team, the Buffalo Bills. At one time he was signed to a $40.25 million contract after scoring nine touchdowns in a single season. This week, it was reported that the former NFL star died at the age of 36. However, his family has set the record straight that he is still alive and on life support. Here is what you need to know.
According to Williams' father, Wendell Muhammad, his son was hospitalized in Tampa with "swelling on his brain and swelling on his spinal cord that was ruptured.
In a GoFundMe organized by a friend, Muhammad writes that his son had a "major accident at work" when "a steel beam fell on his head causing a massive head injury."
On Sept. 1, Williams experienced "severe breathing problems and had to be rushed to ICU." "Sadly, my son Mike never gained consciousness," Muhammad wrote.
His father asked for donations so he could travel back and forth to the Tampa hospital where he was being cared for.
"Multiple sources have confirmed to me that former Syracuse and #Bills WR Mike Williams has passed away following injuries suffered during an accident while working at a construction site. The Buffalo native was 36 years old," Buffalo Bills reporter Jon Scott tweeted this week.
"Dang man hurts my heart seeing the news of my former teammate and Buccaneers 2010 draft class brother Mike Williams," former Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy posted on X. "Always great energy, brought joy and laughter to the locker room and a heck of a player!! Prayers and blessings to his family!!"
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His Daughter's Mom Set the Record Straight That He Was Still Alive
The mother of Williams's eight-year-old daughter, Tierney Lyle, spoke to reporters outside St Joseph's Hospital after visiting him on Wednesday, according to a report in the Tampa Bay Times, and set the record straight that he was still alive and on life support, but that the plan is to take him off.
"They were waiting on me and (his daughter). We're here and still trying to figure it out," she said. "He was asleep when we went in there and he woke up when he heard our voices and his daughter's voice. And he looked around, and he blinked and he was crying but he can't move."
"She's mad. She cried so much yesterday and today. She's just angry," she said about how her daughter is handling the accident. "That was daddy's girl. She's a gymnast. A natural, since she was like 4. She was blessed with all that ability."
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Williams played college ball at Syracuse, leading the team with 461 receiving yards as a true freshman in 2006. In 2010, he was chosen as a fourth-round selection by Tampa Bay, leading the team with 964 yards and 65 receptions in his first year. He also scored 11 touchdowns. The following year, Williams scored nine touchdowns and had 996 receiving yards, and was signed to a six-year, $40.25 million contract. In 2014, Williams was traded to the Buffalo Bills for a sixth-round pick. He played one season with the team. His career ended in 2016.
