To the editor:

Roy Williams did not betray Kansas and its fans. He delivered us our money’s worth. We are left in a very strong position. Losing Roy will not cause the players to lose the opportunities available to members of a premiere program. Roy Williams did not betray anyone by the standards of Division 1 coaching.

Williams betrayed his own self-imposed standards. From afar, it appears Roy made a binding covenant with his players of his own free will, above and beyond his responsibility as a coach.

He called the program a family. His intense commitment lived out over 15 years communicated that “family” was a relationship as deep and lasting as blood. He literally became a father to the fatherless in some cases. It seemed unambiguous to men coming to KU.

In a healthy family, fathers are totally committed to their children until they reach maturity and the child is obedient. Once the child launches his own family, the nature of the relationship to the father changes. The father must recognize that his child’s first responsibility is to the next generation.

In a dysfunctional family, these lines are crossed inappropriately. That is what has happened with Roy Williams. His “father,” Dean Smith made an inappropriate request and the “son” has acquiesced.

The result? A life that had the potential to create a statement against the greed and self-serving nature of athletics and fatherless culture has become compromised. With misapplication of his values, Roy Williams is now an honorable, talented but ordinary man.

Brad Mayhew,

Lawrence