"I thought it was terrible. I don't know who to believe. Williams was very loyal and honest. Nobody could ever say different. Sometimes, that got him into a lot of trouble. But after he died and they cut his head off, that made me sick"

Curt Gowdy’s words reflect a deep sense of mourning, disturbance, and moral ambivalence triggered by posthumous scrutiny of a public figure, presumably Ted Williams. Gowdy’s initial reaction, “I thought it was terrible”, suggests a profound disapproval of some event or revelation connected to Williams’ legacy after his death. The candid admission, “I don’t know who to believe,” captures his confusion embroiled in conflicting narratives or rumors, which often surround the demise of iconic personalities and the aftermath handled by their families or the press.

Describing Williams as “very loyal and honest” builds a contrast between the man Gowdy knew and the ensuing controversy. The phrase, “Nobody could ever say different,” is emphatic; Gowdy testifies to Williams’s unimpeachable virtues, implying that whatever is being alleged or done posthumously starkly opposes the lived reality of Williams’s character. Loyalty and honesty, commonly lauded traits, are here highlighted as double-edged, “sometimes, that got him into a lot of trouble.” Gowdy notes the paradox that virtues can invite adversity in a world that does not always prize them.

The language grows blunt and visceral with, “But after he died and they cut his head off, that made me sick.” The statement directly refers to the controversial cryonic preservation of Ted Williams, where after death, his head was separated to be frozen. Gowdy’s repulsion is palpable, not just at the act itself, but at the treatment of someone he admired post-mortem. The phrase “made me sick” signals moral outrage, a sense of violation, and disgust at the perceived indignity visited upon Williams. Ultimately, Gowdy appears to be grappling with loss, disillusionment, and betrayal, unable to reconcile the genuine qualities of his friend with the sensational, unsettling events that followed his death.