When basketball no longer matters: Reacting to Williams tragedy

Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan and David West were in to Oklahoma City yesterday. They were to attend the funeral of Ingrid Williams, the wife of Oklahoma City Thunder Assistant Coach Monty Williams, who was killed in a car accident, leaving behind her husband and five children.

Williams played for the Spurs (as a teammate of Doc Rivers) and coached in the Spurs' organization. He was with the Hornets when Chris Paul and David West took the Spurs to 7 games in 2008. So on the same day that the Spurs had a game in Los Angeles, some of the key cogs in San Antonio's machine were halfway across the country to be with their friend during his time of need.

In the face of such loss, most would expect Williams to break down under such pressure. But Monty Williams is not such a man. Instead, he stood before family, friends, loved ones, and former coworkers to deliver a message full of strength, forgiveness, and love.

I avoid bringing my faith or politics into discussion on this site, because for me, PtR exists as a place for Spurs fans to hang out together without getting into anything that would distract from the purpose of the site: enjoying and appreciating the Spurs.

But this story hits way too close to home for me to let it pass without commenting on it. I'm a Christian. I have five kids. I don't know how I would react if my wife died in a similar way, but Williams' reaction is full of the kind of strength and faith that I aspire to.

David West, who was in attendance, spoke about what Williams means to him:

Full transcript of David West describing the experience of being at Ingrid Williams' memorial today: pic.twitter.com/kzVJTPNP78

— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) February 19, 2016

My prayers are with the Williams family as they move through this trying time.