Did Terrel Williams ever apologize to Prichard Colon?

By Arslan Saleem May 02, 2024 13:18

Photo by Getty Images

In October of 2015, Terrel Williams and the then-unbeaten Prichard Colon participated in what is now known as one of the most controversial fight in history, as the fight resulted in Colon suffering some devastating injuries. Years later, there is still public intrigue around whether Williams ever apologized to Prichard.

The Tragic Incident

During the match, things went south when Williams started hitting Collon behind-the head until he was catastrophically hurt.

In fact, he started suffering internal bleeding and would fall into a coma.

Colon's life has never been the same since, suffering grave injuries that left him with brain damage, the need for physical therapy and reliance on a motorized wheelchair and communication device to live his life day-to-day.

Validation & Repercussion

Williams himself was widely panned and heavily criticized in the wake of that tragedy. Williams never publicly apologized to Colon, but it's my understanding that privately he did apologize to the player and his family.

He too repeatedly has expressed his public sympathy and concern for Colon's well-being, saying he prays hard every day that all is right with the aging former star. But he has also said "no, no" to allegations that accused him of any wrong-doing on the night in question leading to confusion about what his position actually is.

Net Neutrality: The Legal Land and Public Opinion

There has been discussion about the legality and unethical side of what Williams did, some people arguing that he should face more repercussion for his crimes.

Turns out because both fighters were aware of the risks and signed waivers, any charges against Williams in relation to his actions inside a sanctioned event would not hold.

Difficulty in establishing intent to break rules, along with signed waivers naming track as responsibility for loss complicate incident's legal implications.

Williams Fired Back — and His Family Clapped Back

Williams spoke publicly about his 'hurt' over what happened in an interview with The Ring back on October 2018, saying that he was now praying for Colon's health and at peace.

Although he also said that did not feel responsible and even insisted himself in a court case “there was nothing (more) I could have done from the moment I walked into the house at 4.33 p.m. until she vanished.” This ambivalent angle to the situation has made it more difficult for people to gauge how Williams feels about this.

As a result of the incident, Colon's family filed a $50 million lawsuit against the promoters and ringside doctors for such gross negligence in that match led to unfortunate impacts on Colon's life leaving him with needs medical care as well as therapy.

The Terrel Williams-Prichard Colon boxing tragedy most importantly begs the question of moral responsibility, legal implications and duty of care in combat sports.

Despite Williams' concern for Colon's life, there has been no public apology from any party involved in the incident and ongoing debate as well as national analysis on what all took place are still happening.

Their legal and ethical implications aside, it was a deeply consequential tragedy that remains with both Williams and Colon to this day.

The complexities of this case are a reminder just how significant our actions in the sporting arena have far-reaching repercussions, and serves as another call for accountability and responsibility within competitive sports.