Utah Jazz Guard Nigel Williams-Goss Shares Article His Mother Wrote On Racial Injustice

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah Jazz guard Nigel Williams-Goss shared an article his mother wrote on racial injustice entitled “In the face of racial injustice, the time to act and implement change is now.”

The Jazz guard’s mother, Dr. Valerie Williams-Goss, is a doctor of human services and a therapist in private practice. She penned the article for Yahoo! Sports on Friday, May 29.

“My mom, who has her PhD in Human Services (and is white) wrote this article today!” the Jazz guard posted about his mother. “It addresses the role that white people, and all races, can play in helping change our current social climate. THIS is why my mom is my hero!”

https://t.co/JU4OTXLzDa
My mom, who has her PhD in Human Services (and is white) wrote this article today! It addresses the role that white people, and all races, can play in helping change our current social climate. THIS is why my mom is my hero! Plz share and RT

— Nigel Williams-Goss (@NigelWG5) May 29, 2020

The article was published a few days after a black man, George Floyd, died in Minneapolis, Minnesota after a white police officer knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.

Dr. Williams-Goss wrote about racism and its impact on her son.

“Recently, my son, Nigel Williams Goss, was drafted into the NBA. When word got around that my son played professional basketball, I heard a plethora of racist comments congratulating me for having a white son playing in a predominately black sport. I had to tell countless people that my son is biracial and then used those moments to educate even my racist clients about what their words and behaviors meant to the world and how hurtful they were,” Dr. Williams-Goss wrote. “I risked my job many times by confronting people about racist comments they were making, but I could not have kept silent because it was my job to speak up. When Nigel was playing at Gonzaga in the 2016-17 Final Four, there were people making comments about him being “different” because he was an Academic All-American, while also being a brown athlete. Again, I had to confront those people who were making comments in front of me, making it clear that what they were saying was racist and stereotypical.”

According to Yahoo! Sports, Dr. Goss’ “research on the unique issues interracial couples and biracial children encounter has been utilized in different programs” and she has “also has worked with a number of college and pro athletes, and has been one of the few consultants specializing in multicultural families and grandparent rights.

Nigel Williams-Goss was drafted by the Jazz during the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft. In July 2019, the guard signed a contract with the Jazz.

Welcome to SLC, @NigelWG5! pic.twitter.com/pmSfXHSXvr

— utahjazz (@utahjazz) June 27, 2017

During the 2019-20 season, the guard appeared in nine NBA games. He averaged 0.4 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 3.1 minutes per contest.