Tuesday, May 22, 2007
The Sad Saga of Ricky Williams
The Ricky saga continues.
He was known as the Texas Tornado in college and while playing for the Miami Dolphins, he was a tornado spinning out of control. Ricky Williams' promising NFL career came to a complete halt after repeated violations of the NFL's substance abuse policy and just when he was to be reinstated in the NFL, he again tested positive for marijuana last month.
Over his seven-year NFL career, Williams failed five drug tests and, according to NFL policy, after a player tests positive three times, he is suspended for at least one year for each subsequent violation. After a year, a player can apply for reinstatement, which is at the commissioner's discretion. Now the ball is in NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's hands on his decision to bring Williams back into the NFL. But if it was my decision on Williams, I would say, "no."
How many times can a player be given a chance?
How many times does a player say "sorry" and then do the opposite?
In Williams' case, it's too many times with no remorse to seek help and clean up his tiring act. Too many times we hear how yoga is helping him, but then so is marijuana. For all intents and purposes, a normal citizen would be arrested and jailed if caught with marijuana and be forced to enter a rehab program.
In a statement released by Williams' agent, Leigh Steinberg, Williams stated:
"Due to the recent reports about me failing a drug test, I feel it is appropriate for me to issue this statement. Last month, following a psychological evaluation requested by the NFL, we — the psychiatrist and I — came to the realization that there were a few things I needed to iron out about myself in order to make my return to the NFL as successful as possible.
I am an honest, God-fearing man who is intensely dedicated to being the best person I can be on and off the football field. There is no need to smear my name or to defame my character for the sake of news. When the time is right, God willing, I will be back on the field scoring touchdowns for whatever team is fortunate enough to believe in me."
The Dolphins don't believe in him anymore and coach Cam Cameron made it known to the media. Cameron said: "I will not allow our fans to be let down by people that are not on our roster — not again. It's my responsibility not to let that happen again. We have the greatest fans in the game and we've got men on our team that we're going to focus on."
Williams was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder in 2001 and was prescribed to take the drug Paxil. However, he said Paxil didn't agree with his diet and that marijuana is 300,000 times better for him; it's a better treatment with fewer side effects.
It not only hurt his football career, but chances to be one of the best in the game. In 2002, he was the Dolphins' leading rusher with 1,853 yards and also has the awards to show for his football ability from the Heisman Trophy to Pro Bowl MVP. However, since 2003, he only played in 12 games and owes the Dolphins $8.6 million for breaching his contract when he sat out for the entire 2004 NFL season. His problems also hurt the Dolphins with a five-year playoff drought, which is the longest in their franchise history.
Dolphins' linebacker Zach Thomas said it best, when interviewed by MSNBC.com: "It has been a rough ride ... we have to quit looking for excuses and move on. Whoever is here, we've got to work with that and quit looking at all the drama that is usually off the field. There has been quite a bit over the last five years."
The last five years of the Ricky Williams saga.