Early Retirement for Ricky Williams

Miami Dolphins fans were none too pleased when they learned of Ricky Williams' stunning decision to retire from the NFL at the ripe young age of 27. They certainly cannot be blamed for their disapproval. After all, the team's offensive scheme revolved around Williams' ability to carry the ball as much or more than any other running back in the league, and to run it well, thus keeping defensive pressure off of their quarterback. For his services, the Dolphins were paying Ricky Williams millions of dollars. No doubt they gave their All Pro running back the star treatment that his abilities warranted. So why would he suddenly up and quit at the peak of his career with minimal advance warning, and with such awful timing?

Ricky Williams provided the following explanation. "This is an opportunity to be a real role model. Everyone wants freedom. Human beings aren't supposed to be controlled and told what to do. They're supposed to be given direction and a path. Don't tell me what I can and can't do. Please. I don't feel like I have to explain myself to anyone. All I end up doing anyway is giving rebuttals, and it is boring. I don't want to do it anymore. That's it. I don't want to do this anymore. If people really care about me, that would be enough for them."

Does this make things any clearer for you? I suppose not. When understandably pressed for clarification, Ricky admitted that he had recently tested positive for marijuana for the third time. He was tired of getting caught. More than that, he was tired of having to hide his hobby (supposedly done by drinking a special liquid concoction he claims many NFL players imbibe before drug tests, though medical experts insist there is no such elixir capable of nullifying a positive marijuana test), and sick of needing to justify his actions. Ricky Williams marches to the beat of his own drummer, that's for sure. He found himself in the rather tricky situation of being a non-comformist individual trapped in the highly structured team environment of the NFL. So what was Ricky to do? He likes to get high, and he saw this as strictly his own private inclination, not the business of the NFL. But since the NFL does make such interest in illegal substances their business, Ricky Williams simply decided not to do business with them any longer. To prevent us from confusing the order of the chicken and the egg here, Ricky did stress that he failed a drug test because he wanted to quit playing football, not that he quit football because he failed a drug test.

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