Mother’s cancer diagnosis driving factor in Chiefs RB Damien Williams’ decision to opt out

Kansas City Chiefs RB Damien Williams has revealed the reasoning behind his decision to opt out.

The Kansas City Chiefs announced that RB Damien Williams would opt out of the 2020 season on Wednesday. In an interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio this afternoon, we learned the dire reasoning behind his decision to opt out.

“For me, it was kind of cut straight and simple, right to it,” Williams said. “I’m dealing with a family matter — my mom was diagnosed with cancer and it’s stage four. There was no other — that was my decision dog. With everything that was going on, she was the only one there for me. I never had the opportunity to have my dad there. My mom is my everything, my rock. During a hard time like this, I think I should be next to her.”

Despite learning his mother’s diagnosis, the choice to opt out of the season was a tough one for Williams.

“It was hard,” Williams said of his decision to opt-out. “I sat down and talked to everybody in my circle, family and everybody closest to me. My mom was like, ‘Whatever decision I’m behind you.’ At the end of the day, it’s hard. Football is my life, especially coming off a championship and wanting to do a repeat. I know they’re going to handle that. At the end of the day, it’s something personal I had to handle.”

Williams explained that this has been a whirlwind decision for him. He hadn’t yet had a chance to speak with Chiefs HC Andy Reid about it and only spoke with general manager Brett Veach.

“I only really got to speak to Brett Veach about it,” Williams said. “But like I said, everything is just so sudden. This really just happened.”

Veach released the following statement on Wednesday:

“As an organization, we certainly understand and respect Damien’s choice, knowing it was made in the best interest of his family. He means a lot to our football team as a player and a person, and we’re going to miss having him around this season.”

Williams undoubtedly has the support of the entire organization and Chiefs Kingdom in his decision to be with his mother and be her rock as she fights cancer.

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