Former NBA Star, Jayson Williams, To Speak In Yaphank At U.S.'s 1st Gun Safety Course To Be Run At A Jail

The program's being run in conjunction with the Suffolk Sheriff's office and Northwell Health Center for Gun Violence Prevention.

By Peggy Spellman Hoey, Patch Staff

Jun 1, 2026 9:35 am EDT | Updated Jun 1, 2026 11:19 am EDT

Former NBA basketball player Jayson Williams listens as he sits in the audience during a prisoner re-entry conference in Jersey City, N.J., Thursday, April 17, 2014. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

YAPHANK, NY — Former NBA star Jayson Williams, who was previously incarcerated on a gun charge, will be one of the featured speakers in the first-ever gun safety course in the U.S. to be run at a jail, Sheriff Errol Toulon said Monday.

Williams will be one of the featured presenters in the month-long course, along with firearm safety advocates, people directly affected by gun violence, and community groups.

Last month, Williams joined the Long Island Breakthrough Ballers' Basketball Clinic for an afternoon focused on teamwork, discipline, and inspirational conversation, according to the Sheriff's Facebook page.

Williams served more than two years in a state prison for the accidental shooting death of his limousine driver, and driving drunk, then slamming his vehicle into a tree, Newsday reported.

The program is being run in conjunction with the sheriff's office and Northwell Health Center for Gun Violence Prevention at the Yaphank Correctional Facility, but there are plans in the works for it to eventually include the Riverhead Jail, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office said.

Representatives will be joined by community advocates to announce the first-ever gun violence prevention course in a jail in the country on Tuesday.

The curriculum was created through a collaboration between the Northwell Health Center for Gun Violence Prevention and the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office with the mission of reducing gun-related crimes and harm throughout the county.

This first-of-its-kind course will cover topics such as public health approaches to gun violence prevention, risk and protective factors, community impact and healing, violence intervention strategies, career development, and goal-setting for personal growth and community empowerment.

The announcement comes during gun violence awareness month, which is designed to bring attention to the more than 300 people impacted by gun violence in the United States every day.