Positivity: Madieu Williams
Madieu Williams has given an example of how to react to adversity, but it’s consistent with his character throughout his life. The below is less than half of an excellent article:
Big brother has it covered
Madieu Williams, a Bengals safety, also has another position - role model to his younger sibling
Sunday, April 23, 2006In just two seasons, Bengals fans have learned what the Williams family has known for years: Madieu is a good guy to have on your side, and you miss him a lot when he’s not there.
A shoulder injury that required surgery forced Williams to miss all but four games in 2005. Without him in the lineup, the Bengals’ defense struggled down the stretch. Williams was fourth on the team in total tackles (95) and third in solos (71) as a rookie in 2004, and he started a total of 13 games at three positions.
Like most athletes, his initial reaction to sitting out while injured was one of anger and disappointment.
“It was like, ‘This isn’t fair. Why me?’ ” said Hugh McDonough, Williams’ friend and real estate agent.
Then the answer came. His little brother was the reason. The injury would give Madieu more time with Mike.
Madieu became Mike Williams’ guardian after the death of their mother, Abigail Butscher, in April 2005. She was 45. She suffered a stroke late in 2003 and spent much of the last year of her life in a Maryland hospital.
Madieu spent much of his rookie season, 2004, flying to Maryland Monday afternoons and returning late Tuesday to be ready for meetings and practice Wednesday.
Mike moved to Cincinnati in June 2005 after finishing sixth grade. Madieu hired a sitter, and he plans to hire a cook and a housekeeper/driver for the next school year.
“Mike is the center of his universe,” McDonough said. “When he brought Mike here, his whole life focus changed. Everything he does focuses on ‘What does Mike need to be doing?’ and ‘Where does he need to be?’ ”
While their mother was ill, Mike lived with the boys’ father, Mohamed Forna, 54. But Forna often traveled on business between Maryland and the family’s native Sierra Leone, so Mike went to live with Madieu.
“It was never a question,” Madieu said of his brother’s living arrangement. “(His father) just kind of figured it was the best thing, because I’m here and I’m more stable. Mike wasn’t getting the supervision he was accustomed to, the attention he had received from my mom.”
Madieu started baby-sitting Mike when the boy was 4 months old. When their parents divorced, Madieu was a sophomore at Towson State University. He drove an hour home to watch Mike at night so their mother, who was a registered nurse, could go to work; she didn’t trust Mike with anyone except Madieu.
Madieu transferred to the University of Maryland because the school was closer to their Lanham, Md., home, though it meant sitting out a year and starting all over again as a walk-on junior in a larger, more competitive football program.
There was no resentment.
….. So Madieu is there for Mike.
“There was never a thought, ‘Should I do it?’ Or, ‘Was it the right thing?’ ” Madieu said. “It was something that had to be done, and it came natural. And it’s been a blessing, a true blessing.”
….. After undergoing surgery Oct. 24 to repair a torn labrum, Madieu was more available for Mike. After driving him from their home near downtown to school at Cincinnati Country Day, Madieu would head to the stadium for rehabilitation. His work days were shorter than his teammates’ - he’d be home by 1 p.m., leaving plenty of time to start dinner and head back to Indian Hill to pick up Mike.
“It was a blessing in disguise, because (Mike) didn’t have to go through it alone after the first four games,” Madieu said of his injury. “After the first four games, I was there. Things just kind of happened. Everything just clicked.
“Granted, I was devastated being hurt and not being out there helping the team. But then I took a look at the big picture, and I realized there was a 12-year-old kid here who just lost his mom, and he’s going through so much that for me to be able to be with him was more important.”
Their bond was always there. As soon as he learned to walk, Mike wanted to sleep with Madieu. If Madieu went out with friends, he’d come home to find Mike in his bed.
Henry Brady coached Madieu in football and track at Duval High School in Lanham. Brady also made sure Madieu - and Mike - had a ride if they needed one.
“I wasn’t surprised Mike ended up living with Madieu,” Brady said. “Madieu always has acted much older than he is.”
As a high school athlete in football and track, Madieu always took Mike with him to offseason workouts with friends.
“If you saw Madieu, you saw Mike,” said J.B. Gerald, a high school football teammate of Williams’ who is an offensive graduate assistant at Penn State. “Mike is such a great kid; their mom did a great job with him. We all love Mike. We’re happy he’s with Madieu and we’re proud of him. Mike is a testament to his mother. So is Madieu.”
Mike, like Madieu, is mature for his age. He gets up at 5:45 on school mornings and often makes breakfast for Madieu - pancakes or scrambled eggs.
“He knows his bedtime; I don’t have to say anything,” Madieu said. “It’s ‘ ‘Dieu, see you in the morning.’ I’m proud of him. He doesn’t realize how far that self-discipline will carry him in life.”
Mike does much of his own laundry and irons his school uniform shirts.
“He pushes me a lot. That’s what keeps me going,” Mike said of his big brother. “I like when he pushes me. It shows me I can do anything I put my mind to.”
