Ricky Williams Retirement?

[bassman186]

What do you guys think about Ricky Williams retireing because of a Marijuana addiction that he can't pass? I heard he failed the 3rd drug test and hence retired, plus I also heard he is leaving ths US and going to Puerto Rico to live?

There goes my fantasy season!!!

[Guido]

Weird....whatever turns your wheel !

[This message has been edited by Guido (edited 08-01-2004).]

[outdoor ran]

What a waste of talent. How sad is that, he chooses getting high over football. Then hangs his teammates out to dry. Ricky go find a hole to crawl into and never come out.

[Farley]

Maybee he didnt want to play for Miami and this was a way out of his contract. I'm sure the guy can afford to take the year off and come back next year to play for Oakland. Probably wasnt the smartest way to do it though. They make stuff to drink that will make you pass a drug test, he could've passed one of the three if he wanted to.

Oh, and I heard it was Asia he was going to.

[HighLife100]

I don't think we will ever see Ricky again in the NFL. He said if he was ever interested in playing again that he likes the Raiders but even Oakland has drug tests so he would have to face a suspension of some kind.

[Farley]

3 weeks I think, but Miami would own him for another year if he did come back next year. I'm sure there is a way out though.

[walleyehawk]

Miami would retain his rights and he would have to be traded to another team. And the Dolphins could demand quality draft choices. This is the Barry Sanders situation.

That and if he has drug issues as alleged, and was facing games off, he would have to sit those out with the new team. That would bring his value down.

I hear the fins are going after the signing bonus. Ricky going to have to cut down on the reefer if he loses that bonus.

[HOF#13]

As a die-hard Dolphin fan I have been keeping up on this deal. Walleyehawk is right, Miami retains his rights for the length of his retirement. His retirement years do not factor in his contract years. He is the Dolphins property, and if he ever wants to play in the NFL again, it will be on the Dolphins terms.

As far as my thoughts on Ricky....Well, I'll just keep those to myself. I do not want to get banned from this awesome site. Hehehe.

[BackHerUp]

Farley writes:
(posted 08-10-2004 03:41 PM) "...They make stuff to drink that will make you pass a drug test, he could've passed one of the three if he wanted to."

According to ESPN (as told to them by Ricky Williams), he drank the masking drink for his previous drug tests, but failed 2 of them anyway.

Report: Ricky Williams Decides To Retire
July 25, 2004

Miami (AP) --- Ricky Williams has told the Miami Dolphins that he's retiring after just five years in the NFL, The Miami Herald reported on its HSOforum Sunday.

Williams said he was overjoyed by his decision.
..."You can't understand how free I feel," Williams told the Herald in a cell phone interview Saturday before boarding a plane in Hawaii and heading to Asia to begin several months of travel.

The 27-year-old running back, who started his career with the New Orleans Saints, said he plans to file his retirement papers with the NFL on Monday or Tuesday...

...Williams said there was no chance he would change his mind.

In May, three South Florida newspapers reported that Williams tested positive for marijuana and faced a fine of at least $650,000 for violating the league's substance-abuse policy for a second time since joining the Dolphins...
...Williams told the Herald his failed marijuana tests had a minor influence on his decision to retire, but was only one of many factors. It didn't cause him to retire, he said, as much as reinforce his reasons for wanting to do so...
...Williams' two seasons with the Dolphins have been the best of his career. He set a team record with 1,853 yards rushing in 2002. He followed that with 1,372 yards last season...

I think he just is plain sick of being in the league, he doesn't enjoy football as much as he once used to. He also has a disdain for the media and public scrutiny. He's a quiet-type and prefers to take his millions he's already earned (and believe me, he's earned every penny playing for the Saints and Dolphins) and walk away from football, while he can still walk. He owes the league nothing. He also has made more money in 5 years than you or I will make in a lifetime...he'll do just fine.

[This message has been edited by BackHerUp (edited 09-06-2004).]

[Piker]

If I had to bet I'd say he winds up broke and comes crawling back to the league. That's just my opinion. Professional athletes and other people that come in to money seem to lose it just as quickly. I'm not saying Ricky is like Mike Tyson, but that's one example. Ricky has said he's not worried because he's been poor, but he's just about to find out what it's like to be rich and then be poor. Like I said its just my opinion, and he doesn't owe anyone any explanation or reason. (Except the Miami locker room).

[Guest]

Piker,
You need to look a little more closely at Ricky.

He does not lead the extravagant lifestyle that most multi-million $$ athletes do. Read a little more about him and you'll see what I mean. For example, living in tin and grass shacks in Jamaica...no pun intended with the word grass...lol. Travelling with nothing but a backpack into third world countries, etc, etc.

I think his millions will last him for quite some time. No need for him to return for the sake of money.

[Piker]

I know he's off doing all those things, but he's probably still living in a house or two stateside with some nice cars. I don't know, you might be right but I think he'll come crawling back.

[Piker]

Hopefully, my other prediction of the Vikings and the Ravens in the Super Bowl works out too.

Ricky's a punk that doesn't care about football, his teammates or anything other than that fat contract he lost. He's found his passion for football surprisingly after having his signing bonus usurped.

[walleyehawk]

The Dolphins might be owning one of those "grass huts" pretty soon. The are heading to federal court in an attempt to put some muscle behind the arbitrators ruling. Get a judgement, mahn....

Ricky has one choice left. The Raiders. No other team is going to mess with his issues and pay the price the Dolphins want with draft picks. He has cost the team alot this year. A coach likely, attendance will go down, value of the franchise falls with the bad record, etc. There are too many other idiots in the league with Keeshawn and T.O. Plus the drug history means constant tests and the next one will cost him a year. Onterrio Smith is in the same boat.

[PikeTipper]

I wouldn't group TO and Keyshawn in the same group as Onterio Smith and Ricky Williams. It's one thing to run off at the mouth and another to be so dumb that you can't stop smoking pot to make millions of dollars. Now Koren Robinson is getting suspended for drugs, hopefully Jerry Rice can straighten him out.