ERIC GILMORE
No stop sign
If you didn't know Raiders starting outside linebacker Sam Williams and only read his medical history, you'd swear he must have played at least 10 NFL seasons by now.
Williams, a former Clayton Valley High School star, had surgery on his right knee to repair cartilage damage. He had surgery on his left shoulder to repair a torn labrum. He had surgery on his left knee to fix a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus damage.
Williams made two trips to injured reserve and missed 38 games because of injuries.
Ten seasons? Try three.
Williams has logged enough hours in hospitals and training rooms to convince many football players that a less dangerous line of work might be in order.
Instead of looking for the nearest exit, Williams has become even more determined to have a long, successful NFL career.
"He's the kind of kid that when adversity comes, he kind of blows it off and does what he has to do to come back," said his father, Sam Williams Jr., during a telephone interview Monday.
"That's what he's done. Even as a kid, he never felt sorry for himself when things went bad. We've always told him you can't dwell on bad things that happened."
Williams -- he's officially Sam Williams III but goes by Sam Williams -- is the kind of player you can't help rooting for.
He doesn't whine. He doesn't wallow in self-pity. He certainly doesn't quit.
Two seasons ago, Williams' teammates selected him as their Ed Block Courage Award winner -- every NFL team picks one.
"It was difficult," Williams acknowledged last week. "Not being able to play and watching my friends go out there and play, knowing I'm supposed to be out there with them.
"But at the same time, I couldn't do anything about it. All I could do was get better and get ready to go into the next season. That's what I've been able to do."
Coming back from a serious injury is nothing new to Williams. Early during Williams' junior season at Clayton Valley under coach Herc Pardi, he suffered a broken arm.
Williams came back to play the final few games that season, had a stellar senior year -- Clayton Valley went 9-3 -- and landed a football scholarship to Fresno State.
"He never missed a practice, never missed a meeting," Pardi said, recalling Williams' junior season. "He had that resiliency early.
"That's the type of quality Sam has. He has great fortitude. He's going to stick to something and make it a go."
For Williams, that's been true on and off the field. Williams, who is black, battled the city of Clayton in federal court for four years, alleging racial bias in a February 1999 traffic stop.
A jury in 2002 cleared a Clayton police officer of racial bias. But a second jury ruled in 2003 that the officer lacked sufficient reason to stop Williams and awarded him $7,500 in damages. The city of Clayton was ordered to pay $78,950 of Williams' legal fees.
"He's not one that likes to be up front," Williams Jr. said of his son. "He wanted it to be over. He knew it was something that had to be done.
"He didn't appreciate what went on. He didn't think it was fair."
Williams now lives in Alameda but still spends plenty of time in Clayton with his childhood friends, his father said.
"I love the town," Williams told the Times after the 2003 verdict. "I grew up there. I just wanted them to admit they were wrong and fix things."
Sam Jr. said he and his wife, Joann, moved from Clayton to Sacramento in part because of the stress of the trial but also to be closer to his work. He taught adult basic education in a parole office in Sacramento and now is project coordinator for a drug education program at Folsom State Prison.
At Clayton Valley, Williams was a classic late bloomer in football. He had never played organized football until his freshman year. His father, fearing injury and burnout, made him wait.
"If he was going to play, I wanted him to play and continue to play," Sam Jr. said. "I guess it worked."
Growing up, Williams played soccer and baseball. As a junior he played volleyball at Clayton Valley for the first time and was an instant star.
"He's just a natural athlete," Sam Jr. said.
Williams' combination of size -- he's 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds -- speed, quickness and football instincts convinced the Raiders to draft him in the third round in 2003.
Williams started four games at outside linebacker and appeared in five others in 2004 after recovering from shoulder surgery. Last year he was slated to start again before blowing out his left knee during a joint practice with the Houston Texans.
This year he's healthy again and back in the starting lineup.
"Sam is doing well, doing well, knock on wood," Raiders coach Art Shell said last week. "We just have to keep him healthy."
So far, so good.
"I feel really good," Williams said. "Glad to be back here with the boys. ... Whatever they ask me to do, I'll do. I just want to play football."