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On Ricky Williams’ Early Retirement
"One of the
finest running backs in the game, was quitting because his love for drugs outweighed his love for football."
By Mike Oseroff
"Football Is Life, The Rest Is Just Details"- reads a t-shirt you’re likely to see worn at Pop-Warner games by
young kids, their fathers, or their passionate coaches. Maybe you’ve seen teenagers wearing the same shirt around your school, or the fans who eat, drink, and breathe the game of football. Perhaps you even see it on the pros. They wear it to the gym, flash it proudly while they bench press, as if to say: "I've given my all to this game, I love it, it's a part of
me."
But there is one person you will never see wearing that shirt: Ricky Williams.
Ricky Williams, the former Pro Bowl running back, Heisman Trophy winner, and heart and soul of the entire Miami Dolphins franchise, walked away from the game of football a week ago, and it seems he won't be looking back. At the age of 27, Williams was at the brink of entering his prime. He was a superstar, having led the N.F.L. in rushing in 2002, and was the focal point for his team's offense. He was a multi-millionaire living in a vibrant city and playing the game he loved. Or so we thought. On July 24th, Williams retired from the NFL after only five seasons, shocking the city of Miami and the entire football world.
With all fairness to other pro leagues, the National Football League is perhaps the most grueling, demanding, and physically excruciating professional sporting league in the world. You don't make it to that tier unless you are an elite athlete. The gym time, training regimens, and mental preparations are unequaled in any professional sport. It would seem that any player who has made it to the N.F.L. would at least have a little passion for the game. But as it turns out, that fire was lacking in Ricky Williams, and none of his accomplishments on the field could ignite it.
We always knew Ricky was a little off. Before Miami, Ricky donned the Saints uniform in New Orleans. He was a very promising rookie when drafted out of college in 1999, after winning the Heisman trophy at The University of Texas. Williams was such a hot commodity that he wore a wedding dress to his first photo shoot with then Saints coach, Mike Ditka- symbolizing a marriage between him and the organization.
But Ricky quickly cracked under the NFL spotlight. His rushing totals were not as great as projected, and soon Williams developed a personality disorder that required medication. Characterized by extreme shyness, his social anxiety disorder resulted in Ricky inexplicably doing interviews with his helmet on, so that no one could see his face.
While these interests were "different" from your typical football player, no one ever questioned Ricky's drive, especially when he was traded to Miami in 2002. Ricky trained harder, led the league in rushing, and became a national superstar. But while all seemed well, nothing could have prepared us for what happened next.
Right before his announced retirement, it was discovered by the Miami Herald that Williams had failed his third drug test for marijuana since joining the Dolphins- a penalty that warranted a serious fine and suspension.
When asked about the subject, Ricky shocked everyone by admitting that he usually drank a widely used purifying liquid to avoid detection in his drug tests. The only reason he failed his recent test was because he simply forgot to drink the purifying liquid the night before. He implied that he didn't want to quit smoking weed, which factored heavily into his decision to retire.
Now, one of the
finest running backs in the game, was quitting because his love for drugs outweighed his love for football. It really made you wonder.
Rarely as fans do we ever question a professional athlete's passion for their sport. We simply figure if they made it that far, they must love what they are doing. But Ricky Williams changed all that.
Questions poured from our heads: Was he simply putting up a charade for five years in the NFL? Did he submit himself to the mental and physical strains of football just to collect a paycheck to support his other interests? Was there any fire in him at any point or was 2002 all artificial? Was the only reason he kept pushing with linebackers pulling him down as he dove for that extra yard...to get a bonus to fund an extra ounce of Panama Red?
I believe Ricky Williams had a love for football at one point, but the flame flickered out. The NFL is a long way from Pop-Warner, or high school, or even college- where money isn't an issue, and players play because they love it. A lot can change along that road, and for Ricky Williams it did quite early. He's off in China right now, out of the spotlight, seeing the world, taking pictures, and maybe even firing up a sack of that sticky, because for Ricky Williams- Life is Life, Football was the Detail.
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