Former NBA Pro Jay Williams: NCAA Needs 'Monumental' Change
*By Michael Teich*
After a motorcycle accident ended his basketball career in 2003, former Blue Devils standout and Chicago Bull Jay Williams found a new calling.
Williams was a one-time NCAA champion and second overall pick in the NBA draft, but more than a decade later he's built an extremely successful career as a full-time game and media analyst for ESPN.
"I don’t look at it as a tragedy. I look at it as a gift," he told Cheddar Wednesday of his athletic career-ending accident.
Williams's latest project is new YouTube Originals docu-series "Best Shot," executive-produced by LeBron James and his business partner Maverick Carter. The series, which debuted last week, follows Williams in his new post as a member of Newark Central High School's boys basketball coaching staff. The 8-episode doc, Williams said, exposes the tough challenges young athletes faceーon and off the court.
Although his accident doesn't define him, Williams tells Cheddar he views it as an opportunity to make an impact on the sports world. Earlier this year, he weighed in on the latest debateーwhether college athletes should be paid for court time. He thinks it's about time players get a share of the nearly $1.1 billion in revenue that the NCAA earned last year. He even called for an outright player boycott of the NCAA's Final Four tournament in a [Twitter video](https://twitter.com/RealJayWilliams/status/968643972288704513) last February. Williams's video followed the example of other big names in sports like his TV-partner LeBron and ex-player and fellow ESPN analyst Jalen Rose.
Williams may be optimistic about change, but he knows that it may take a while.
"It’s going to take something monumental to happen."
For more on this story, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/jay-williams-gives-his-best-shot-in-new-youtube-docu-series).
Minty Bets, Sports Betting Analyst for Yahoo Sportsbook, joins Cheddar Bets to break down all of the latest trends from the first week of baseball season.
Sponsored by BetMGM
The competition between streaming platforms is heating up as Apple TV+, HBO Max, and others acquire the rights to air live sports, oftentimes behind an exclusive paywall. While this is likely to entice some viewers, it also presents a risk that viewership will become fractured. Customers might steer away from subscription overload as content streaming options become seemingly endless. Jeff Agrest, deputy sports editor and media columnist at the Chicago Sun-Times, joins Closing Bell to discuss what it means for the live sports industry when content is put behind a paywall on streaming platforms, how it could impact viewership, impact on sports betting, potential acquisition targets, and more.
The Dallas Cowboys have joined forces with cryptocurrency platform Blockchain.com as the NFL loosens restrictions on teams making such deals. The partnership won't open the door for crypto use at AT&T stadium but will provide for some exclusive fan experiences.
Ice Cube's 3-on-3 basketball league, the Big3, is introducing decentralized team ownership to fans with the chance to own a minority stake in the 12 teams through blockchain technology, a first for professional sports. The rapper, actor, and filmmaker joined Cheddar News to talk about the new ownership model using NFTs. "This is a perfect time to offer it to fans and not just wait for fat cats to come and want to buy the teams but for fans to be able to be a part of it,” he said.
McLaren displayed its all-electric, off-roading racing vehicle, the Odyssey, in from of the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, joined Cheddar News to discuss bringing the heavy-duty vehicle to a new racing series with an emphasis on sustainability — and even gender equity with a male and female team of two drivers required. "This is McLaren's first-ever Odyssey, which is an EV. Looks like an SUV — but not really much of an SUV — that we raced five times around the world in various locations where climate has impacted the world," he said.
Seth Schachner, a digital business executive and the managing director of the consultancy Strat Americas, joined Closing Bell to talk all about the mega-merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery, combining to form Warner Bros. Discovery (Nasdaq: WBD), and what it means for the streaming space going forward. “I think unlike some of the other mergers that you've seen out there. I think this one has actually got a real chance to be successful and to really further the cause of streaming," he said.
Between Bells executive producer Conor White recaps some of the biggest stories of the week, and teaches Baker Machado and Hena Doba a thing or two at the same time. It's This Week In Trivia!
