National Basketball Association

Williams known as 'Moses' of jail

Published Jan. 28, 2012 12:00 a.m. ET

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Jailed former NBA star Jayson Williams has transformed himself into a churchgoing mentor to other prisoners at Rikers Island — earning him the nickname "The Moses of Rikers."

Christopher Hughes, who was incarcerated at the New York jail for 100 days with the former New Jersey Net and Philadelphia 76er, said the baller is beloved by all behind bars with him, according to the New York Post.

"People treat him like a star," said Hughes, who was released from Rikers last week after serving time for reckless assault. "Every single person shakes his hand. He is like Moses, the Moses of Rikers."

He described how Williams, 43, attends church and leads Bible-study classes every day.

"Jayson would sign people's Bibles," Hughes said. "I would ask him why, and he'd say, 'Fake it till you make it.' I thought he was saying, 'If I can get them in the door through this signature, then at least I got them in the room to see Christ.'"

Williams worked as a suicide-prevention assistant for a week on the midnight shift, to help inmates who were contemplating killing themselves, Hughes said.

He is also penning a second book, "Humbled," which includes the bombshell that he was sexually abused as a child.

Williams is completing a one-year sentence for DWI, after serving an 18-month term in a New Jersey prison for aggravated assault. He accidentally shot and killed a limo driver in 2002 at his New Jersey mansion.

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