(Editor's note: This story has been updated to attribute comments about Joshua Williams to Fayetteville City Council member D.J. Haire. CityView regrets the error.)
The Fayetteville City Council paid tribute to a homegrown superstar, bestowing Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Joshua Williams with an award for his leadership efforts “on and off the field” at its meeting Monday.
Williams, a Fayetteville native, was a fourth-round NFL draft pick in 2022 from Fayetteville State University. According to NFL.com, he was the first player to be selected from a historically black college or university since 2020 when he was drafted last year.
Council member D.J. Haire said it was an honor to be able to present the award to Williams, who was at the meeting to receive it.
“We wanted to do something, as a city, as a council, as a mayor, as citizens of Fayetteville, to give our brother, our friend, our native, our cousin, our son — however you may look at him — we wanted to show him that we love and we support him and his accolades and his teams and all the great things that they have done.”
Haire highlighted Williams’ strong sense of duty in giving back to his community, recalling how he hosted a youth football camp at FSU a couple of weeks ago. Haire’s grandson attended the camp and talked about how Williams is “a humble guy. He was a kind guy, and he was a sincere guy.”
Support for Williams’ achievements was clear as many of his friends, family members and fraternity brothers packed into the council chambers for the ceremony. The Super Bowl champion remained humble, expressing his gratitude for the community’s support as he spoke to the crowded room.
“The only thing I can say is, I’m overwhelmed with feelings of joy (and) appreciation,” Williams said. “There’s so many people in the community rooting for me, especially through such a big year. There were a lot of jumps, a lot of hurdles. It really did help me get through any kind of trials and tribulations I faced during the season.
“Just knowing I had almost the whole city of Fayetteville: family, friends, fraternity brothers, friends of friends, aunts, uncles, everybody just praying for me, just being behind me. I can’t really put in the words how much I appreciate you all — my city, my family, my community — and I’ll always do my best to give it my all, represent the best possible way I know how to and just give back.”
Evey Weisblat covers Fayetteville and Cumberland County government for CityView. She can be reached at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com
