For $1.247 million, maybe a bird would fly backward
Published: 5/27/2010 7:54 PM
Last Modified: 5/27/2010 7:54 PM
After hearing that former Oklahoma State basketball assistant Jimmy Williams won a lawsuit lottery (he was awarded $1.247 million in damages by a jury in Minnesota), the first thing that entered my mind was a mental image of birds flying backward.
Williams was an assistant at OSU under Eddie Sutton and Sean Sutton. He testified that he left his job at OSU because he had been offered a job by Minnesota (and former Tulsa) coach Tubby Smith.
Oops.
Minnesota never hired Williams and Golden Gopher officials said a job was never offered.
A jury chose to believe Williams’ version of the story and that’s how he got to be an instant millionaire, or at least an instant thousand-aire after lawyers gobble up their share.
But, back to birds flying backward, reporters who covered the Cowboys were allowed to watch practice during the Sutton Era and Williams always had a few trademark phrases he liked to spring upon erring players . One he used frequently during the 2005-06 season (when a freshman-heavy team was playing its way to the NIT) was this:
“If I took your brain out and put it in a bird, the bird would fly backwards.”
Now Williams can afford to feather his pillow with the bird of his choice.
--Jimmie Tramel.
Written by
Jimmie Tramel
Sports Writer
