Tanya Young Williams filed for divorce from former NBA player Jayson Williams in New York on Monday, Oct. 5, according to court records obtained by TMZ.
She is also accusing her estranged husband of owing “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in child support. Tanya made that claim in comments to the outlet, which did not publish an exact balance or a current response from Williams.
The filing comes 17 years after Tanya first sought a divorce in February 2009. That proceeding never produced a finalized divorce, TMZ reported.
Tanya, who appeared on Basketball Wives LA, married Williams in 2000. They have two daughters, Tryumph and Whizdom.
Tanya Says Payments Stopped Two Years After a Settlement
Tanya told TMZ that Williams provided no financial support for their daughters while he was incarcerated from 2010 to 2012. She said payments began after the couple reached a settlement in 2015 and stopped about two years later.
She said she tried to resolve the dispute through Williams’ representatives before returning to court and now wants him held “legally and financially accountable.”
She Sought Child Support and Health Coverage in 2013
Tanya had previously taken the support issue to a California court. In December 2013, TMZ Sports reported that she requested child support and health-insurance coverage for the girls.
Her filing listed Williams’ gross monthly income at $15,000. His representative declined to comment on that petition at the time. The request followed Williams’ release from custody.
He had pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in 2010 in connection with the 2002 shooting death of limousine driver Costas “Gus” Christofi at his New Jersey home, according to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office. His incarceration also included a separate New York drunken-driving sentence.
His Daughters Opposed His St. John’s Hall of Fame Honor
Tryumph and Whizdom made their own accusations in October 2022 after learning that St. John’s University planned to induct Williams into its Athletics Hall of Fame.
In separate open letters provided to the Associated Press, they accused their father of neglect, emotional and verbal abuse, and inadequate financial support. Whizdom called him a “deadbeat father.”
On their website, the daughters said they had repeatedly tried to build a relationship with him after his release from prison. They also alleged that he had lived about 20 minutes away from them for three years without seeing or financially supporting them.
A university spokesperson defended the decision to honor Williams by citing his athletic accomplishments and his recovery after addiction and incarceration. The school said it would not discuss his relationship with his children.
Williams helped St. John’s win the 1989 NIT championship before becoming the 21st pick in the 1990 NBA draft. He played nine NBA seasons for the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets and earned an All-Star selection in 1998.
St. John’s went ahead with the induction on Oct. 22, 2022, at Carnesecca Arena. Williams was one of six members of that year’s class.
Williams Built Treatment and Job-Training Programs
Williams founded the Rebound Institute in Jupiter, Florida, after entering treatment himself. In a 2019 interview with TMZ Sports, he said working in addiction treatment was more fulfilling than playing professional basketball. “This is the best job I ever had,” he said.
In 2025, he spoke with ABC7 New York’s Sandra Bookman about recovery, incarceration and his work with a reentry program on Long Island.
That work includes Rebound on the Road, a nonprofit that helps people in recovery and people leaving prison prepare for commercial-driving jobs. The organization describes an eight-week program combining commercial driver’s license training with mental-health support and mentoring, in partnership with Nassau County and Nassau Community College.