Yesterday I gave you part one of my interview with Eric Williams. If you missed it, check that out HERE.
In part 2 we hear what REALLY happened with “Plastic Surgery” from Season 1, his thoughts on reality shows, is Jen a gold digger, why athletes cheat, transitioning from college to the professional league and how young players in the league should handle their relationships.
Jill: What are your feelings about the show overall and the ladies that are on it?
Eric: I’ll tell you what, that show, it’s foolery, they exploit the women. They don’t understand it. They wanna be stars. They don’t understand this business. They don’t know the nature of the beast. They don’t understand about stardom and what it takes to stay in this game being a female. It’s straight exploitation, you know what I’m saying?
So if this is what you want and we’ve seen from the first season, shit leaking out and now the second season, shit leaking out… exploitation. If this is what you want, this is the way it’s gonna be. So the show is what it is, you know. It’s drama. Women like it. Everybody that want to see something, everybody wanna point fingers at somebody because it almost hits close to home.
The same that we’re going through hits everybody at home, especially in the black community, blah, blah, blah. But at the same time, it’s like bashing the professional athlete
Jill: You think it’s bashing athletes? You really think that?
Eric: Yeah. Because this story been playing a million times. It’s not the first time this happened. This man and woman thing has been going on for years.
Jill: Okay, so why do you think it’s bashing if it’s not a new story? It’s just a different setting.
Eric: That’s what I’m saying. The stereotype is coming out and it’s being played on TV. I mean, if you look at it, the media, they love to destroy the professional athlete, especially the black one…and it’s another way of exploiting it that way. Another way of exploiting that shit and really exploiting black women and black men. That’s what I think, you know what I mean.
Maybe everybody looking at it as entertainment, but I don’t look at it like that.
Jill: Well, reality shows are entertainment…
Eric: I don’t care. My opinion, what people say about me and all that shit, I don’t care, I don’t give a… I don’t care about that, you know what I’m saying. Because everybody is entitled to their own opinion, it don’t bother me. It don’t bother me at all.
Jill: No reality shows for your future then?
Eric: I might. I look at it as an improvement on the design and maybe branding my brand. I’ve got a lot of people out there that just look at TV every f**king day and with the drama, you know? So why they out there looking at TV and wanting to point fingers because it makes themselves feel good in their own home, then f**k it, I’m gonna have a whole bunch of product to sell to their ass too.
Jill: All right. I’ve got a question. In the first season there was a girl named Sandra that implied that you said that you and Jen were a business arrangement or something to that nature, that you were dogging her in the streets. Was she telling the truth? Did you “KNOW” her?
Eric: Hell no! Let me tell you something. I met that woman one time. This is how crazy this story is. I met that woman one fucking time at a f**king…you know, first and foremost, I do a lot of promotions and stuff for the Morgan Group. A good friend of mine runs all the Morgan Group hotels down at Miami Beach — the Mondrian, the Delano, and the Shore Club, which are the top three hotels down in South Beach.
So…it’s like a football thing, the Pro Bowl was down here. She worked with the 400-Club, you know, promotions. So I came in and did a photo opt with her holding liquor, conversate [sic] for a few…she said she was a TV personality, she worked with all the clubs. I do merchant services, I do all the credit card processing… I said maybe there’s a situation to make some business.
I went home, this is dumb black man right here, I went home, right? I’m like shit, let me see if I can Google this individual and if she’s really what she says she is, you know what I mean. I didn’t think it was like I was doing anything bad. I’m like let’s see if this person is real. If she’s in the 400 Club, she’s a TV personality around here, then maybe she can open some doors and make some money. Period. You know what I’m saying? I met her once. But I used Jen’s computer
The only thing about it was Jennifer came back and I guess Google searches, you need to sign off…
Jill: Right, you probably didn’t clear the history
Eric: Yeah, saw her name and it was like, [in a female voice] you know her, this, that.. Did you hit that, She’s a groupie. I said hold the f**k up, man, I met this individual one time. And it just so happened that they used that. It just so happened it was real time. It was real time as they were filming this happened at home. They saw her out and then bam, you gotta thing.
But you never once heard an individual say I took this girl out, I had sex with her, I did anything, so what the f**k is everybody saying…you ain’t really listening to what they’re saying. She’s only saying things that she can get at another woman about, meaning it’s an arrangement and all this shit…who the fuck talks like that? That’s the only ammo she had to get back at her.
That should’ve told everybody that it was bullsh*t. At least let me have fucked somebody, I never touched this chick. I got blamed for that shit and so everybody looking at me like oh, he fu**ed her… I didn’t touch this individual. I met her one time, one fu**ing time. I probably talked on the phone with her two or three times. That’s it, you know.
Eric: That was some straight BS, but it made it good for the show. You know what I’m saying, Jennifer was a genius and it was all good.
Jill: Do you think that the way you’re portrayed and the way Jen is portrayed is accurate on the show?
Eric: Hey, listen, they trying to make it look like she’s a darling. And granted, she’s a good individual — good family background, blah, blah, not a bad person. I just think she’s been influenced in the wrong situation in the wrong way.
But that’s a decision she must speak for herself. But at the same time, they’re gonna take my emotion and my passion and try to abuse it. They built the show around me if you ask me, because if I’m not scripted and I’m just on there with pure passion, they can build around that. Come on, man, calling me and shit and I ain’t dead. Come on, that’s some bullsh*t. Come on…
What woman would stay in that relationship like that you know, if I was just this type of guy, you know what I mean. I mean, come on.
Jill: You know, there are some people saying she’s staying because — and I don’t think this, but you know, that type of woman, a gold digger — that she’s staying because it’s a money thing.
Eric: Hey, man, you know, people have their own opinion. She’s got her own money. Shit, it’s a different thing. That’s something I did because I wanted her to have something for herself so she could stand alone. And we’re talking about it’s like what, she started Flirty Girl Fitness like 6-7-8 years ago when I was in Toronto, you know? So she could have her own identity, so she wouldn’t have to be labeled as Eric Williams’ wife.
These are things that I wanted her to do for herself. I supported her for that. And I always did. So for the people to say she’s in it for that, no, I mean we’ve been together for a long fuc**ng time. So you know what, women, they get emotionally attached and sometimes it’s hard to remove yourself when you’re emotionally tied to an individual for so long.
Jill: Right, I mean as a woman, I think that if she was just in it for the money she wouldn’t be complaining because who cares? She’s collecting the money…
Eric: Yeah, but women always complaining, I don’t wanna hear that shit. They’re complaining when they got the fucking money, when you don’t got the money you’re gonna complain even harder. That bulls**t you just said, no, I ain’t going with it.
Jill: [Laughing] Well, that’s what I think, but anyway. Do you think you can work it out?
Eric: I mean I’m a man. I can work anything out, but it’s not gonna be worked out the way it’s going on, the way it is right now, you know what I mean? It’s all gotta be right even with myself. I think I’m a better man now, after I got out of the NBA, 100%. And that I’m even more better three years removed from the NBA, well, four years now…four years removed because I got a chance to really get all that competitive nature out of me. You understand what I’m saying?
Eric: It’s a mindset with us. We go hard on everything. You know, when we challenge somebody or we’re in competition, our mentality, the reason why we’re successful, we want to win in every fu**ing thing that we do. No matter what it is, you know, and sometimes that can really get us in trouble, especially when you’re in a relationship.
So that being said, yeah, I made some mistakes. It’s okay for me to admit it because at the time it wasn’t like I was wanting to do it on purpose. It is was it is. But you know, I think anything can be done. I think I can make it work, I can make it happen, but people have got to be willing to want to make it happen. And I think right now with myself for her, she’s really enjoying the situation that she’s got going on right now.
So if that is the case then we need to do what we need to do so we can move on, you know what I mean. You can have that. Give me my name back and you can have all that. We good, you know. That’s what I say. Don’t just drag me along. I don’t operate like that. Don’t leave me in a grey area. The reason why we fu**ed up is my fault, I know this. I’ve said that a hundred million times, okay, so we’re gonna move on or we’re not. Let’s just do it and get it over with, but don’t just dangle it along.
You’re out in the clubs every night. You’re all over the place. Whether you’re promoting or not, you know what I’m saying, what type of promos you doing out in the clubs? The show is already being promoted.
So I’m not gonna live my lifestyle like that, and my woman ain’t gonna live like that. Fuck that.
Jill: So what advice would you give to young athletes that are developing their relationships…
Eric: Man, don’t get married and shit, don’t get married until you’re out of the mother-fu**ing league, you know. I feel that still. I waited until I retired until I got married, so I’d say don’t get married until you’re out of the league and three or four years removed. Because you’ve really gotta find yourself, you’ve gotta find that position.
I’m not just saying don’t get married to not get married; I’m saying it because we’re so used to being in this structural way and everything being handed out to us, it’s a condition. To be married is a totally different condition than how we are playing professional sports. Because that condition by itself does not support the whole frame of being married, I’m gonna tell you that right now. On the road all the time, flying everywhere, emotional as hell because you’re dealing with win and losses, and you’re dealing with media and all this other outside sh*t that’s all around you in a fog…and then you’ve gotta come home and try to be the best man, the best husband that you possibly can.
That’s a whole lot a sh*t on you for the day. So I say man, if you’re married before you get in the league fine…and if you ain’t married…I mean I spent 12 years in the league, so the conditioning that I had to go through, it took me like four years to get it all out of my fu**ing head, you know what I mean?
So I’d say, man, take your time and enjoy life, enjoy your time in the NBA. Don’t worry about nothing. Stay selfish, meaning when I say selfish, when we were playing basketball and grinding, and getting to the point where we needed to go, you know who was with us? No one. Straight focus, you cared about focus, everything was good.
But then when you get to the NBA and you’ve got the cash and all those people around, people throwing shit at you, you’ve got women here, you’ve got your friends there, all that smog, man, really destroys the competition level. And that’s why you see a lot of guys cannot make it in the NBA. Although they were great players in college, they cannot make it in the NBA because there’s 24 hours in the day and the NBA is only three of those. You’ve gotta manage that time. And you’ve got a pocketful of cash, you’re always on a roll and all that…come one, man, you can get yourself in some trouble when you ain’t got your head right you know.
Jill: So, last thing, any rumors you want to clear up?
Eric: Rumors? No, man, I ain’t got no rumors to clear so I don’t want nobody’s shit, you know what I mean? [laughing] Those mother fu**ers can kiss my ass, you know what I mean. I don’t go out here to appreciate somebody’s opinion. I don’t ask no questions. Only one man I need to answer to and that’s the universe. And I know he got me already, so I’m forgiven. Everybody else can kiss my ass square.
There you have it! Raw and uncut! I personally love it and appreciate his honestly!
Follow Eric on twitter @Ericwilliamsyo
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