Kids called him ‘Stutterbox.’ This KU player wants you to know how he made it through

Dom Williams stared at the ground. It was all he could do in the moment.

The high school assignment called for a speech in front of his peers, and he’d prepared exactly what he wanted to say about “The Iliad” in advance.

His words weren’t coming out right, though. Once Williams started stuttering — in front of his friends and classmates — the obstacle he’d dealt with for years only became worse.

Emotions swirled inside him: embarrassment, defeat. Williams asked the teacher if he could give the speech another time, returning to his seat only halfway done.

“I didn’t really want to look at the class,” Williams says. “I couldn’t really do it.”

To understand how far Kansas sophomore running back Dom Williams has come, it’s best to start in this freshman classroom.

You have to start by knowing his high school nickname was “Stutterbox,” and that most of his identity was shaped by how he talked.

“If you have a problem speaking, people look at that in a weird way,” high school friend Brandon Williams says. “It’s really a big deal, and it was a really big deal to him.”

There were times when Dom stayed quiet while fearing what others would think of him. Even in large groups, friends often would only talk to him about why he was repeating his words.

“I just put myself in my own shell,” he says. “I didn’t really open up to anybody.”

It’s all changed as he’s grown over time. Dom — ahead of what could be a breakout season at KU — is ready to discuss the path that’s led to him becoming more comfortable as himself.

In doing that, he knows he might be able to help others as well.

“I feel,” he says, “like I’ve overcome a lot.”

Dom Williams had just completed a 200-meter race when his friend pulled him to the side. Brandon wanted him to meet two girls he’d recently started talking to.

The get-together didn’t go as planned. Dom, a bit nervous, began to stutter just a few words into the conversation.

“As he said something, they started laughing,” Brandon says. “Right in his face.”

Brandon lost his composure; he screamed at the two girls before walking away, never speaking to them again.

It was just one snapshot of life for Dom while dealing with his speech impediment.

Brandon understood the difficulty. He’d also gone through a period of stuttering, which gave him some empathy for what Dom was going through.

“The first thing besides people seeing your face is them hearing your voice,” Brandon says. “That’s really prideful, especially for dudes.”

Dom’s stutter remained persistent, starting in fifth grade and affecting him most in middle school and the start of high school. After growing up as someone who always smiled and loved to make others laugh, Dom became quieter than football teammates.

His stutter also became worse when he tried to speak in a hurry, as on the football field, guys often have to talk quickly to be heard at all.

Even friends who meant well sometimes made things worse. Some would laugh at him even when they didn’t mean to, while others volunteered to finish his sentences when he was close to getting the words out himself.

“I wouldn’t talk in class,” Dom says, “and wouldn’t really talk to anybody.”

That all began to change as he continued to attend speech therapy three times a week.

During those sessions, there was some work on limiting Dom’s speech repetition, as he practiced slowing his pace while also reading through exercises designed to help. But a more important part of the instruction was gaining knowledge about stuttering, as he began to understand he wasn’t alone while learning the best strategies to help moving forward.

Stuttering, it turned out, wasn’t uncommon at all. It affects about 3 million in the United States — 70 million worldwide, according to The Stuttering Foundation — and though some cases can be treated, there are no miracle cures to make it completely go away.

Dom’s speech has improved over time. There are still a few instances now when he’ll stick on a word — blinking a few times reflexively as a coping mechanism — but he says friends have told him his stuttering is less noticeable now than in the past.

More than anything, though, how he views his own stuttering has changed in recent years.

“It doesn’t really affect me anymore,” Dom says, “just based on having more calm confidence in myself.”

It’s part of what has helped him make it this far.

And also something that showed through during one moment in particular last summer.

It was freshman orientation at the KU football facility, and coach David Beaty was looking for volunteers to read from the team’s projection screen.

Dom raised his hand. And without hesitating, he spoke aloud in front of a large group of new teammates.

Beaty made sure to point out the significance. He told the players about Dom’s past, then spoke about the courage it took for him to speak up when he didn’t have to.

“It was an empowering moment,” Beaty says.

Dom says the kind words weren’t necessary. What he did wasn’t a big deal, as he simply was trying to be like everyone else.

That process has become easier, he says, since he’s arrived at KU.

“They just all rock with him,” Brandon says of Dom’s KU teammates. “They don’t really care how he speaks. The way he speaks doesn’t determine the person that he is.”

Dom should have more opportunity to show his on-field talents as well with Year 2 beginning this week.

After coming to KU as one of the team’s top recruits last season — he is a top-10 all-time rusher in Texas high school history — Dom’s 2017 season was sidetracked by injuries. He suffered a high ankle sprain early in the year, then just as he started to heal up late, he sustained a shoulder injury that impacted his play.

His overall production was limited. Dom grinded through to contribute on special teams, but he finished the year with just 176 rushing yards.

“It’s a great feeling just having another chance,” Dom says. “It was only my freshman season, so I still get some more chances to be able to make a difference.”

He feels more prepared now too. He’s up to 205 pounds this season from 190 a year ago, adding noticeable muscle to his upper body. Beaty says that he’s “running different,” and Dom also admits to being more comfortable with the playbook — an aspect he believes held him back a year ago.

“He knows he can play, and he’s going to start off healthy,” Brandon says. “He’s just ready to ball out.”

If he does, he’ll do it for himself and also those who look up to him.

That includes James Craig, a Texas grade-schooler who played for Dom’s father, Damien, in Texas. When Dom learned Craig also was a stutterer, he reached out to him, with the two quickly becoming friends.

“Dom just has that spirit anyway,” Damien says. “Kids gravitate towards him.”

Dom, who was on KU’s honor roll in the spring semester, also wants to be an example for his younger siblings Deja and Daniel. They’ve seen his struggles, along with his lowest points too.

That included days when he was teased in school, and also having knowledge of the speech he couldn’t finish freshman year.

Through it all, Dom wants to show he’s made it through as a stronger person.

His identity — in football and life — will not be shaped by the way he speaks.

“I have people looking up to me,” he says. “I’ve got to show them that stuff can’t hold me back.”

Jesse Newell

Jesse Newell covers University of Kansas athletics for The Star.

This story was originally published August 30, 2018 at 3:52 PM.