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One year ago this weekend, a resident of the northwest side of Grand Rapids had a holiday weekend night away from work. That was an unusual happening for the straightforward young man, who worked hard since his graduation from Grand Rapids Christian high school to support himself and put himself through college. An interesting young man, slightly quiet, always funny and very social - he was enjoying a few beers with his friends in a small dark country bar up on the city's northwest side when after winning a game of pool his life was changed, undoubtedly forever.
A Labor Day weekend when the families in that very family-oriented community were, cooking outside, visiting the beaches of Grand Haven and Holland, and "hanging tight" with old high school chums before they took off for Ann Arbor or Lansing for college. They were all football fans, especially Zac Williams. It was the weekend that Michigan's Wolverines were trounced upon by Appalachian State, remember it? I just happened to be in the city that weekend, I read the headlines. "Where were the Wolverines?"
A die-hard Wolverine fan, this obscure young life, healthy and headstrong awoke in what used to be Butterworth hospital, his brachial artery having been ruptured by an unknown face in the crowd, the loser of the game of pool. As he had handed over the twenty dollar bill to the winner, Zac Williams, the worthy opponent accepted not only the bill proclaiming his victory, but a swift and unexpected punch to the jaw. The loser, misjudged his aim slightly, only superficially connecting, but throwing young Williams off balance and into his crowd of friends.
As Williams laid on the bottom of what appeared to be a "pig pile," someone reached into the mix, grabbed William's forearm and violently twisted the appendage, rupturing the main artery of the arm, ripping apart the tendons and ligaments, changing William's life forever. The bar was crowded as the offender left the bar, quietly, no one noticing his exit, but they had all seen his face. No one knew his name, but they had all seen his face.
Williams had no health insurance. Then adding insult to injury, his trustworthy Wolverines, as if in grief over their most loyal fan's injury - lost to Appalachian State. It was difficult to manage his emotions. Forced into surgery or the possibility of losing his arm, he laid in his hospital room, fading in and out of consciousness, replaying not only the assault in his mind, but what must have been the misunderstood words, "Appalachian State beats the Wolverines."
The reason for this story, one year later, college football's opening day you'll find Williams, a bartender at the popular five and a half star bar, The Cambridge House, answering his phone and declaring, "I'm working Saturday mornings now." It's okay though because they'll be busy. It's the start of college football season. He needs the money and he needs it badly. Williams had no health insurance when he was attacked the year before on his night off.
The police never did anything about it. They never asked for a sketch artist to ask a few of the numerous spectators to help get some form of identification of the criminal. He cost Zac Williams the use of his arm, his sense of security and freedom, and his belief in the system. No one on the Grand Rapids Police Department ever really tried to solve the mystery of finding out who was responsible for the miscarriage of justice.
In our mindset today, we want our youth to fend for themselves, be personally responsible, be a contributing factor in our communities, but when we don't support them in their efforts, how can they succeed? Why does this thriving community ignore it's valuable young generation who works hard to support themselves, keeping their noses to the grindstone, supporting the sports and arts activities within the community? This young man deserves justice and needs to be reinforced in his efforts to recover from being forced into being a victim.
Why support those young adults who are doing what they are supposed to be doing? No one else remembers that night more than Zac Williams. It's up to him to get his life back in order, regain a sense of safety and security within his community while trying to forgive the betrayal of the very source of his loyalty and love. Not one of today's young adults loves Grand Rapids more. He owes $35,000 in medical bills and he has decided after one year to go back to college to complete his studies.
He is trying desperately to regain his faith in his community. It's time that people were held accountable for what they do in society. Don't let this happen again to anyone in the fine city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Not only will the insult of Appalachian State beating the Wolverines of Ann Arbor the very first weekend of football season continue to remind him of his injury, but he is still not quite sure what hurt worse that fated weekend - the insult or the injury.
