Tar Heels Overseas: 05' Champion Jawad Williams, 'This is Something Different'

The scare of the COVID-19 has put the world on hold. NBA, NCAA, NASCAR, MLB, MLS, and Golf, have all suspended or canceled any athletic events; colleges alone have suspended in-person classes and all sporting activities. Right now, safety is a priority. The world is at a standstill waiting for instructions on what to do next, waiting for life to go back to normal.

For sports fans, this couldn't happen at a worse time, March Madness and NBA playoffs were creeping around the corner, the best time of the year, right? But health takes precedent over the selfish want of a game, especially when it comes to protecting the lives of the players we've grown to love. As fans, we have to think beyond our world and concern ourselves with how it affects those around us and the danger they put themselves in just for our entertainment.

The athletes at home are going through the proper health channels, but what about those overseas? There are about 4,138 American professional basketball players abroad, 17 of those are Heels,

Marcus Ginyard, France

Will Graves, Poland

Tyler Hansbrough, China

Isaiah Hicks, Russia

Desmond Hubert, Sweden

Joel James, Mexico

Brice Johnson, France

Justin Knox, Italy

Ty Lawson, China

James Michael McAdoo, Turkey

Kennedy Meeks, Japan

Marcus Paige, Serbia

Reyshawn Terry, Mexico

Deon Thompson, Spain

J.P. Tokoto, Spain

Justin Watts, Poland

Jawad Williams, Japan

And they matter too.

Former Tar Heel and 2005 National Champion Jawad Williams spoke about how he's staying safe overseas, the danger he's experienced traveling and how it all compares to a pandemic like COVID-19 in a new post on his blog,

"I have seen a lot over my career as a professional basketball player. While playing in Turkey, we had games canceled due to bombings taking place within our city. One of those bombings occurred at a local police station as I was driving to the gym for morning practice. When I played in Israel, I was having lunch in the center of Jerusalem with a teammate when multiple police cars and medical vehicles started speeding by us. A couple minutes later, I saw a group of people gathered around a tv. I asked one of the guys what was happening. He told me, "A bomb that was covered with nails had been placed at a bus stop and detonated injuring a lot of people." Shocked, I asked," how far away did this take place?" The guy said it had taken place about ten minutes from where we were. Those situations were awkward and dangerous, to say the least, but being abroad during a pandemic like this Coronavirus is something different."

To read the full post, please click here.

Jawad spoke further with us regarding the everyday impact and whether he's coming home.

ATH: How has your everyday life been impacted?

Williams: I'm not the most social person to begin with, so staying indoors wasn't that hard for me. I go from my apartment to the gym and the grocery store. I don't go out to eat so that I avoid crowded places.

ATH: Are you fearful of the unknown especially being outside the states?

Williams: Fearful? No. I take the proper precautions and do my best to avoid areas and people.

ATH: With you being away, how has your family handled you being away?

Williams: Luckily, I have my family with me most of the time, so we haven't had to worry about being apart.

ATH: What has your league done to ensure player safety?

Williams: My league suspended games for two weeks. When we resume play, we will be playing without fans. This is a first for me. Even when there were bombings at sporting events, we still played with fans in the stands. Security measures were heightened, but we were still able to hear the cheers of the fans. This will be different. I Pray that everyone stays safe and healthy.

ATH: Are you coming home?

Williams: As of now, I'll stay put. Home isn't too safe either.

We will get through this. Is it scary? Absolutely but doing everything officials have recommended along with common sense, it'll be a heck of a story to tell 20 years from now, the day sports stopped.