Ricky Williams Retires

PC1 · 07-29-2004, 08:48 PM

Put his picture in the dictionary next to the word FOOL.

A huge waste of prodigious talent.

Someday he'll wake up somewhere and realize what a capital F Fool he is for squandering it all.

I mean if the guy doesn't want to play football, or retire at the top of his game or whatever, that's fine. But what I'm reading in the news is that the guy is just a flake who'd rather be able to smoke dope whenever he feels like it.

Incredible.

The only upside for me personally, is that I've had my kids read the articles as a lesson in life about how recreational drugs can RUIN a person. The guy makes more money in 1 FOOTBALL game than I make in 4 years salary, and he's walking away from that, the notoriety, the privilege and the honor associated with being an elite athelete among elite atheletes................. to be a pothead.

But frankly, I'd rather have some criminal loser from today's headlines to be able to drive a point like that home.

It's really, really disappointing to see this from someone like him.

custom · 07-29-2004, 09:52 PM

Agreed. The amount of God given raw talent he has wasted is just plain said.

Brodus · 07-30-2004, 12:15 PM

It was just reported in the Chicago Trib. that Williams faced a four-game suspension for yet another failed drug test for marijuana. The Dolphins hadn't been notified yet, but surely Williams knew. He'd have been sitting out the first quarter for the season, so he threw in the towel.

And yes, this is a great argument for the stupid decisions people make for recreational drugs...a few hours of enjoyment vs. a lifetime of success.

**Iron Warrior** · 07-31-2004, 12:53 AM

BTW, don't the Colts look like geniuses for not drafting his pothead ass ? I'm sure some of you remember the Colts getting blasted for taking Edgerrin James over Ricky Williams.

Jergo · 07-31-2004, 01:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron Warrior

BTW, don't the Colts look like geniuses for not drafting his pothead ass ? I'm sure some of you remember the Colts getting blasted for taking Edgerrin James over Ricky Williams.

I can't wait to see Peyton;s brother Eli croak on the field this year if he does indeed start. I don't like that guy...

Colts will be poppin though this year...look out for 'em....

VanillaGorilla · 07-31-2004, 04:46 AM

Quote:

I can't wait to see Peyton;s brother Eli croak on the field this year if he does indeed start. I don't like that guy...

I can't imagine them using him over warner.

Quote:

Colts will be poppin though this year...look out for 'em....

Colt will still have to go threw the pats.

Jergo · 07-31-2004, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VanillaGorilla

I can't imagine them using him over warner.

Colt will still have to go threw the pats.

I can...Warner sucks man...

Pats, they'll be no match for the Steelers this year...

VanillaGorilla · 08-05-2004, 03:52 AM

Quote:

Pats, they'll be no match for the Steelers this year...

I have heard that before.lol

**Iron Warrior** · 08-05-2004, 03:10 PM

BTW, I don't know if you guys know, but according to Jim Rome, Ricky Williams wants to play for the Raiders in 2005 and there's nothing the Dolphins can get in return. He will likely comment on it in his show "Rome is burning" at 9pm Pacific, 12pm Eastern

**CEDeoudes59** · 08-07-2004, 04:35 AM

He didn't retire per say. He quit.
And a large portion of the decision was because he wants to smoke weed. I kid you not.

Here's Bill O'reilly on Williams:

Up In Smoke
By: Bill O'Reilly for BillOReilly.com
Thursday, Aug 05, 2004
Star Miami Dolphin running back Ricky Williams has walked away from millions of dollars, in part because of marijuana. Williams told the Miami Herald that he smoked weed constantly and masked his use by consuming a substance called "Extra Clean." Nevertheless, Williams failed three drug tests administered by the NFL, and finally decided to retire at age 27, citing his desire to continue smoking pot as one of the reasons.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, less than 2 percent of American youths had ever used marijuana, back in the year 1962. Forty years later, that percentage had increased to an astounding 54%. The simple question is: What dynamic has changed in America to account for the drastic increase in the consumption of marijuana?

The watershed event, of course, was the rise of the anti-war movement in the late 1960s. Smoking pot became the appetizer for the Vietnam protest entree. The rock world immediately got involved, and an intoxication celebration was underway.

Since that time, marijuana use, especially among young people, has steadily increased, and now about 20% of high school seniors smoke pot on a regular basis.

Interestingly, up until 1992, marijuana use was far more common among whites than minority Americans, according to a study by the National Institutes of Health. But in the nineties, pot consumption by African-American men and women between the ages of 18 and 29 increased 224%!

The ten years between 1992 and 2002 coincided with the rise of the rap industry. Icons such as Snoop Dogg and Ludacris consistently glorified marijuana, and I believe their message fell on willing ears. A generation of Americans kids, of all colors, were (and continue to be) pounded by rhythms and lyrics encouraging a libertine lifestyle with a heavy emphasis on drug use and exploitative sex. How could this not take a toll?

Anyway, Ricky Williams and millions of other young Americans love their pot, and are willing to make great sacrifices to consume it. Think about all the good Williams could have done with the money he was earning. Life in the National Football League is no easy venture, but athletic ability is a gift that should not be discarded lightly.

The bigger picture is that marijuana use is now largely accepted by American society even in the case of young people. This is a disaster for kids. Awash in drugs and alcohol, we are now a culture where children are exposed to intoxicating agents practically from the time they reach the age of reason (7 years). And any child who becomes involved with mind altering substances loses their childhood instantly. They are never the same.

But how often do you hear the media speak out against substance consumption? It is winked at, excused, and even tacitly encouraged by many pundits and activists. That is the great change since 1962. Getting high is no longer even an issue in many quarters - it is standard procedure.

Ricky Williams should be the poster boy for the marijuana debate. The man obviously is seeking emotional comfort, and the price of that comfort is somewhere around $15 million dollars. You can't get much higher than that.

Brodus · 08-07-2004, 04:56 AM

"Ricky Williams should be the poster boy for the marijuana debate. The man obviously is seeking emotional comfort, and the price of that comfort is somewhere around $15 million dollars. You can't get much higher than that."

I have issues w/ a lot of Bill O'Reilly stuff, but damn, that's as true as it gets.

**CEDeoudes59** · 08-07-2004, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brodus

"Ricky Williams should be the poster boy for the marijuana debate. The man obviously is seeking emotional comfort, and the price of that comfort is somewhere around $15 million dollars. You can't get much higher than that."

I have issues w/ a lot of Bill O'Reilly stuff, but damn, that's as true as it gets.

no no O'Reilly is always right

**CDB** · 08-07-2004, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brodus

It was just reported in the Chicago Trib. that Williams faced a four-game suspension for yet another failed drug test for marijuana. The Dolphins hadn't been notified yet, but surely Williams knew. He'd have been sitting out the first quarter for the season, so he threw in the towel.

And yes, this is a great argument for the stupid decisions people make for recreational drugs...a few hours of enjoyment vs. a lifetime of success.

Has no one considered the possibility that he could have continued to play and smoked weed moderately and done well or great anyway, and the only thing stopping that from happening was the contract he signed and a rather idiotic and puritanical approach to drugs in the country? Shitloads of basketball players get stoned and their game doesn't seem to suffer much. Weed isn't a performance enhancer, but it's no where near as bad as most believe. After studying it's health effects for a few years as an activist for drug law reform I often wondered why, when presented with the facts, people would actually choose alcohol over marijuana, alcohol being quite a bit worse for your overall health over time.

It's weird to see this type of opinion on a board like this. You'd think with the all the nonsense put out there about steroids by the government and the media, and how it contrasts with the reality of their use, you guys would at least second guess this 'he threw his life away to be a pot head' and 'recreational drugs can RUIN a person' nonsense.

**CEDeoudes59** · 08-07-2004, 05:26 PM

I don't know, Ricky said it. I believe the NBA is more tolerant of recreational drugs than the NFL. NFL guys get suspended much more often for weed.

VanillaGorilla · 08-08-2004, 03:56 AM

Quote:

Weed isn't a performance enhancer, but it's no where near as bad as most believe. After studying it's health effects for a few years as an activist for drug law reform I often wondered why, when presented with the facts, people would actually choose alcohol over marijuana, alcohol being quite a bit worse for your overall health over time.

It does make you about as sharp as a bag of wet hair though.

**CEDeoudes59** · 08-08-2004, 05:45 AM

Compare Pat Tillman to Ricky Williams, its hard to get excited for Ricky. Or feel sympathy.
And Actually, hes talking about a comeback with the Oakland Raiders in 2005. Talk about a slap in the face for Miami - the team who traded for him to get him out of a shitty situation in New Orleans.

primal1 · 08-08-2004, 05:03 PM

nows hes talking about how cool it would be to come back next year to be a raider.

Brodus · 08-09-2004, 12:55 PM

"After studying it's health effects for a few years as an activist for drug law reform "

Where did you go to school to study these effects?

What group did you work with/for?

To comment on your assumption that an opinon about steroid deregulation should implicitly equal tacit approval of recreational drug utilization--I must say that I don't think comparing recreational drugs and steroids to be at all useful.

Since you've done a lot of testing and research, what happens when you have a subject smoke a joint and then attempt a cognitive evaluation or physical endurance test? What happens after you administer Dromastanolone? In case your activist group didn't provide you with the research, I have quite a few studies for you.

In terms of Ricky Williams, he signed a contract and gets paid millions to abide by it.

What about contracts you sign--do you think it's rational to tell your bank you can't pay the mortgage becuase banks are an oppressive regime spawned by a capitalist pig state? The issue here has nothing to do with a philosophical ideal about drugs, it has to do with the meaning of a contract-->when you accept MILLIONS of dollars, yo uplay by the rules...if you drop out to go get high, you are a dumb Pu33y, period. Ask any kid how hasn't spent years smoking weed, and they'll give you the same answer.