[kiregar]

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 Web site 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 told Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt of his decision Friday and said Wannstedt tried to persuade him to reconsider. Miami opens training camp Friday.

The Dolphins acquired Williams from New Orleans for two first-round draft picks in 2002, and he led the NFL in rushing that year.

Phone messages left early Sunday with two Dolphins officials and Williams' agent, Leigh Steinberg, weren't immediately returned.

"I have no comment," Wannstedt told the Herald when asked about Williams' retiring. "Players report Friday. Right now, it's a 10-day dead period. We'll get everybody started on Friday."

Wannstedt acknowledged talking with Williams but declined to give details of their conversation.

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

He said he has already told his mother Sandy, Steinberg, backup running back Travis Minor and friends and family of his decision.

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.

But his attorney, Gary Ostrow, told The Associated Press: "As far as I'm concerned, there is no violation."

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.

Yeah right, he just wants to quit football so he can get high and smoke weed. Come'on. This guy certainly doesn't have his priorities set straight. It just goes to show the hold that drugs, even a common one like pot, can put on someone when they let it overtake their life.

I did respect him as an football player, but now, I have lost all respect for him whatsoever. I hope that he regrets it for the rest of his life and looks back on this decision every day and ask himself "what if"?

kiregar

[Ciberblade]

*waiting for those who say smoking pot does not affect one's life*

[plschwartz]

Kiregar

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.

The dude says it was only a minor part but you somehow can read his mind and you know that smoking pot was THE reason.
I expect that you are against pot smoking and having seen this article seized on it to prove your point. Regardless of what Williams said you in your INFINATE wisdom know his real reasons and of course your ideas are always correct

I'm just doing a little mind-reading of my own to show you how silly it is

[iltos]

Originally Posted by plschwartz

The dude says it was only a minor part but you somehow can read his mind and you know that smoking pot was THE reason.

hmmm....i had the same thought, only it included the word presumptuous.....

[Ciberblade]

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.

I do not know about your lifestyles...but this would affect my life in a very large negative way.

I was not mind reading...I was article reading

[kiregar]

Well, Mr. Williams has been busted before by the NFL for abusing their substance policy. He has been a great athlete, and I just think that it's a shame to even have drugs slightly influence your reasons to quit playing the sport you love. All I'm saying is that it's a shame to lose a great athlete like Ricky Williams to anything involving drugs.

I'm not trying to get on a soapbox and broadcast my views about drugs and alcohol, I have done my share of both. But what I am saying is that when you let it become a factor in your life and in your job, that's when it really becomes a problem.

Like I said, I used to respect him as a football player, but now he has let his problem or fancy for pot become a factor in his life, then all I can do is wish him the best of luck in the future and hope he gets his life straightened out.

kiregar

[plschwartz]

ESPN.com news services

MIAMI -- Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams has told the team he plans to retire after just five NFL seasons.

Williams told the team this week of his decision, a team source told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Sunday.


Ricky Williams
Running Back
Miami Dolphins
Profile


2003 SEASON STATISTICS
Rush Yds TD Rec Yds TD
392 1372 9 50 351 1

"He wants to get on with his life, wants to move on to bigger and better things," Herald reporter and ESPN commentator Dan Le Batard told SportsCenter.

According to the Herald's report, Williams wants to travel the world and is tired of the demands and restraints of a professional football career.

"I just don't want to be in this business anymore," Williams told the paper. "I was never strong enough to not play football, but I'm strong enough now. I've considered everything about this. Everyone has thrown every possible scenario at me about why I shouldn't do this, but they're in denial. I'm happy with my decision.

"I'm finally free. I can't remember ever being this happy."

He said he has already told his mother, Sandy; his agent, Leigh Steinberg; backup running back Travis Minor; and friends and family of his decision.

According to Le Batard, the Dolphins are stunned by the news and members of the organization are still trying to talk Williams out of his decision, one the Herald says should be finalized this week when Williams faxes his retirement papers to the league.

"I have no comment," Miami coach Dave Wannstedt told the Herald when asked about Williams' retiring. "Players report Friday. Right now, it's a 10-day dead period. We'll get everybody started on Friday.''

Wannstedt acknowledged talking with Williams but declined to give details of their conversation.

Listening to Williams, who plans to travel to Asia without a return ticket, the prospect of his returning to the team appears unlikely.

"I have no idea what I'm going to do," he told the Herald. "Who knows? I just know it is going to be fun. Going to school again. Going to travel for the next six months. I'm halfway intelligent. I'll figure something out. 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."

His stunning retirement ends one of the most unusual NFL careers in recent history. The Saints traded away almost an entire draft to make him their first-round choice in 1999, the fifth pick overall. To spice up his arrival, the Heisman winner out of the University of Texas wore a wedding dress for photo ops with the coach who engineered the trade -- former Saints coach Mike Ditka.

Unfortunately for Williams, New Orleans became a personal hell. He developed a personality disorder that required medication and often wore his helmet during interviews. He rushed for only 884 and 1,000 yards during the first two seasons with the Saints. After Williams' 1,245-yard season in 2001, former Saints general manager Randy Mueller traded him to the Dolphins for two first-round picks and a swap of fourths in 2002.

In Miami, his career flourished. He trained harder, cutting his weight from 250 pounds to 228. In 2002, Williams led the NFL with 1,853 yards and was named to his first (and only) Pro Bowl. Last season, Williams rushed for 1,372 yards on 392 attempts, averaging 3.5 yards per carry. Over Williams' two years in Miami, Wannstedt made him the focal point of his offense, rushing him 775 times -- the most carries in the NFL.

For his career, Williams rushed for 1,000 or more yards in four of his five NFL seasons, totaling 6,354 yards on 1,589 carries and 41 touchdowns. Williams also had 1,806 receiving yards on 229 catches.

Williams was scheduled to make $3.735 million in a contract set to expire in 2006. But it's not the first time he has walked away from a fortune. With the Saints, he signed an unusual contract that paid him more than $10 million in signing bonus in 1999, but he was willing to accept minimum salaries for the remainder of the deal, hoping to make up the difference in incentives.

Financially, the deal was a disaster. The Saints challenged him to be the most productive back in NFL history to make those incentives. To hit the big dollars, Williams would have had to gain more than 6,400 yards in his first four seasons. Despite his productivity, Williams fell short of those numbers in five seasons.

This is also not the first time Williams skipped off to a foreign country on short notice. During one offseason in Miami, Williams went on a European vacation without informing Saints management. They were left scrambling to try to find him.

Williams won the Heisman Trophy in 1998 while at Texas and was considered one of the greatest college backs in history. Williams seemed to enjoy the college game more than that of the NFL.

The Dolphins might have been tipped off that this might be an unusual season for Williams when management learned through a newspaper story that Williams had failed a drug test and was being docked four games' pay this season.

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.

But his attorney, Gary Ostrow, told The Associated Press: "As far as I'm concerned, there is no violation."

Williams told the Herald that his failed marijuana tests had a minor influence on his decision to retire but that that issue 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.

Information from ESPN.com senior writer John Clayton and The Associated Press was used in this report.

[kiregar]

You can paint it any way you like it, drugs was an influence in his decision to retire and by his past actions was probably going to be an influence in his future. You can only look at what people have done in the past to see what they will try to do in the future.

He says he "feels free" now. I didn't know he was a prisoner before. The only thing that was hampering his lifestyle was the fact that he couldn't do drugs because of his job.

It's just a bad situation and makes him look very bad in front of people that can see through all of this as a scapegoat to get out of paying almost a million dollars in fines and make the Miami Dolphins organization look bad for having a repeat offender of the drug policy enforced by the NFL on their team. Espescially someone that they traded two draft picks for.

Maybe the Dolphins had a say in wether he would play or not and that was another factor. I don't know all the details of the conditions of his retirement. But I read both articles and I'm free to draw my own conclusions about it just as everyone else is free to draw theirs.

I just think that it's a childish way to handle your problems, by just giving up and quitting. That's the biggest reason why I've lost my respect for him as a person. Not so much the fact that he used drugs, but the fact that he just gives up and retires rather than face the consequences brought onto himself by his own actions.

That's my OPINION it may be wrong, but at least it's mine

kiregar

[Ciberblade]

Oh, now you've done it...Don't start forming opinions, next thing you know you will begin thinking. And then, beware of the attacks.

oh, and kiragar ~ welcome to TSG!

[iltos]

Originally Posted by plschwartz

ESPN.com news services
"I just don't want to be in this business anymore," Williams told the paper. "I was never strong enough to not play football, but I'm strong enough now. I've considered everything about this. Everyone has thrown every possible scenario at me about why I shouldn't do this, but they're in denial. I'm happy with my decision.

"I'm finally free. I can't remember ever being this happy."

....not every extremely talented athlete has a love for the game

"I have no idea what I'm going to do," he told the Herald. "Who knows? I just know it is going to be fun. Going to school again. Going to travel for the next six months. I'm halfway intelligent. I'll figure something out. 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."

....he's already "figured something out".....any thoughts on the courage it took to make this decision?

His stunning retirement ends one of the most unusual NFL careers in recent history. The Saints traded away almost an entire draft to make him their first-round choice in 1999, the fifth pick overall. To spice up his arrival, the Heisman winner out of the University of Texas wore a wedding dress for photo ops with the coach who engineered the trade -- former Saints coach Mike Ditka.

Unfortunately for Williams, New Orleans became a personal hell. He developed a personality disorder that required medication and often wore his helmet during interviews. He rushed for only 884 and 1,000 yards during the first two seasons with the Saints. After Williams' 1,245-yard season in 2001, former Saints general manager Randy Mueller traded him to the Dolphins for two first-round picks and a swap of fourths in 2002.

In Miami, his career flourished. He trained harder, cutting his weight from 250 pounds to 228. In 2002, Williams led the NFL with 1,853 yards and was named to his first (and only) Pro Bowl. Last season, Williams rushed for 1,372 yards on 392 attempts, averaging 3.5 yards per carry. Over Williams' two years in Miami, Wannstedt made him the focal point of his offense, rushing him 775 times -- the most carries in the NFL.

For his career, Williams rushed for 1,000 or more yards in four of his five NFL seasons, totaling 6,354 yards on 1,589 carries and 41 touchdowns. Williams also had 1,806 receiving yards on 229 catches.

Williams was scheduled to make $3.735 million in a contract set to expire in 2006. But it's not the first time he has walked away from a fortune. With the Saints, he signed an unusual contract that paid him more than $10 million in signing bonus in 1999, but he was willing to accept minimum salaries for the remainder of the deal, hoping to make up the difference in incentives.

Financially, the deal was a disaster. The Saints challenged him to be the most productive back in NFL history to make those incentives. To hit the big dollars, Williams would have had to gain more than 6,400 yards in his first four seasons. Despite his productivity, Williams fell short of those numbers in five seasons.

....i quess this falls under the heading of demands and restraints

Williams told the Herald that his failed marijuana tests had a minor influence on his decision to retire but that that issue 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.

.....i can certainly understand that his retirement is a great loss to miami, football in general, and his fans particularly....but the guy sounds intelligent and sincere....and, yeah, a little adrift...but who wouldn't be after making a choice like that...a choice that rejects a framework he has lived within for most of his life in favor of a life with untold possibilities.....more power to him...

that's my opinion....have fun with it

[Wino]

I don't think Ricky was ever real straight in the head. I don't believe he has ever been happy in the pros. Reading between the lines, it sounds as if he were playing football for someone other than himself and finally decided he didn't want to do it any longer. He would and will not be the first or last great player that has walked away from a lucrative career. Plus there have been several that flat cannot stand or handle the success or the facade of being a role model. While I doubt pot had much to do with his decision, it may be a part of his excuse or reasoning for leaving something he no longer enjoyed doing. Whatever, I wish him well.

[lizard]

Hi all!
I don't pay much attention to the personal lives of professional sports atheletes, just as I don't pay much attention to the personal lives of professional entertainers, Hollywood actors, Music stars, Etc..
IMHO, many of these venues may be called 'professional', but the conduct of many performers is really far from it. And our children worship many of them. These days, it's all like one big real-life soap opera. Do what you want cause you got big money to hire yourself a big lawyer to get you out of a big jam. Lifestyles of the rich and famous. He got 10 million in 1999 for signing his name. That was real American $$$.
The way I see it he should have kept quiet and retired as soon as possilbe. Hope he enjoys exploring the world.

[kiregar]

Originally Posted by ciberblade

Oh, now you've done it...Don't start forming opinions, next thing you know you will begin thinking. And then, beware of the attacks.

oh, and kiragar ~ welcome to TSG!

Yeah, I've got both my opinions and thoughts about a lot of topics. There are a few that I will definitely not bring up on here because I'm probably the only person that thinks or feels that way and I don't want to endure to much bashing on my position

Thanks for the welcome
kiregar

[angelize56]

*Raises Hand*

I know what Wino would say!

[kiregar]

UPDATE

MIAMI(AP) Retired Dolphins running back Ricky Williams said he failed a third drug test for marijuana use, which would cost him a four-game suspension if he decides to return to the NFL, The Miami Herald reported on its Web site Thursday.

Williams told the newspaper that marijuana played a larger role in his retirement than he indicated when he walked away after just five pro seasons. He said he learned of the failed test and possible suspension days before telling coach Dave Wannstedt last week that he was through playing.

Williams said, however, that there were "a hundred reasons" for his surprising decision to retire, and his desire to continue smoking marijuana was only one of them.

"I didn't quit football because I failed a drug test," he told the Herald. "I failed a drug test because I was ready to quit football."

Williams said he's not addicted to marijuana.

Coach Dave Wannstedt said the Dolphins have received no notification from the NFL regarding a third failed drug test, and Williams' latest revelation caught them by surprise.

"We knew nothing about it," Wannstedt said. "I'm totally surprised and shocked again."

Wannstedt said he's eager to move beyond the Williams situation and open training camp Saturday.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello declined comment when reached by The Associated Press.

In May, three South Florida newspapers quoted unidentified sources saying Williams tested positive for marijuana and faced a fine of at least $650,000 for violating the substance-abuse policy for the second time since joining the Dolphins in 2002.

He told the Herald for Thursday's story that he already decided to quit football before that second positive test. He appealed that fine, but received word last week that his appeal had been denied, the Herald reported.

While the appeal was pending, Williams said, he continued smoking marijuana during a trip to Europe and failed a third test upon his return.

He said he had been using a masking agent to cleanse his system while being randomly tested for two seasons but he didn't do that before the last test.

Williams first failed a drug test soon after arriving in Miami in 2002, the Herald reported. He spent much of his two seasons with the Dolphins in the league's drug program, seeing a therapist weekly and taking eight to 10 random urine tests a month, the story said.

Williams suffers from social-anxiety disorder and was a spokesman for the anti-depressant Paxil. He said marijuana helped him once he had to stop using Paxil because it didn't agree with his diet.

Williams played three seasons for New Orleans but didn't blossom until he was dealt to the Dolphins in 2002 for two first-round draft picks.

I had a feeling he was downplaying the effect it had on him retiring.
kiregar