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Though he's always been a strange guy...


"Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams has told the team he plans to retire after just five NFL seasons, The Miami Herald reported on its Web site early Sunday morning.

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


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.


Williams was scheduled to make $3.7 million in each of the 2004 and '05 seasons, and $11.25 million in 2006, ESPN.com's John Clayton reported.


Last season, Williams rushed for 1,372 yards on 392 carries, averaging 3.5 yards. He has rushed for 1,000 or more yards in four of his five NFL seasons with the New Orleans Saints and the Dolphins, tallying 6,354 for his career. Williams also had 1,806 receiving yards on 229 catches.


Williams reportedly tested positive for marijuana on Dec. 10, 2003, and faced a fine of at least $650,000 for violating the league's substance-abuse policy for the second time.


The Saints traded virtually their 1999 entire draft to move up to No. 5 overall to take Williams, a Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Texas."


ATTACK!!!!!!!

And mike dika trade all our draft pick down here to get this sob. Never fullfilled any promise, spoiled brat. Atleast the dophins got the final shaft, and we down in new orleans got something.

Good for him. It's his life.

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction"

Ronald Reagan

Selfish player.

You wanna retire? Fine, announce it soon after the end of the season, not right before the upcoming season. The other Dolphion players have worked hard all offseason for this coming season and the Fin' management based its offseason on the assumption that Ricky would be their back (if he wasn't they could've gone after Corey Dillon really hard). Now he just quits and jets off to Asia? That's not fair to his teammates, the Dolphins organization, or the fans.

Lets face it. The guy is a queer who has a social phobia mental disorder and is very irresponsible.

I don't have a problem with him retiring. But the timing and his overall maturity leave a great deal to desire.

BUT he can turn this around by annoucing he will play this season out and retire AFTER this season.

Edited by - viperttb on Jul 25 2004 3:55 PM

Well i never said he wasn't a loop job, and yes, the timing of it sucked.

But i can't blame a guy for wanting to be able to walk when he's in his late 50s....

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction"

Ronald Reagan

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Well i never said he wasn't a loop job, and yes, the timing of it sucked.

But i can't blame a guy for wanting to be able to walk when he's in his late 50s....

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction"

Ronald Reagan
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

He's only 27. Always thought he was a funny guy. Not a huge surprise but the timing was poor. ESPN said it well in speaking of Dave Wannstedt:

"Coaches can live with the loss of a superstar to a blown-out knee, but losing his Pro Bowl running back to a summer tour of the Pacific Rim, to a longing to share in the serenity of those destitute, shanty-living Jamaicans that so moved Williams? Losing him to that?

Losing him to the freedom to get stoned without drinking that nasty masking agent prior to taking the league's drug tests?

To lose his season, his team, and ultimately his job, to that?

...

What did Ricky Williams leave to do?

He can't be so shallow that he just left to hang out under tropical waterfalls and smoke blunts the lengths of goal posts ... could he?"



ATTACK!!!!!!!

I know he's 27 now, i'm thinking of what a former 10 season NFLs players knees must feel like when they get out of bed everyday, especially as they get older.

Most of em are always on pain meds, which is no way to go through life.

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction"

Ronald Reagan

Williams was a stoner that has money now. He has enough to live on if he is smart with it(not likely). He wanted to do drugs. As a Pats fan, good riddance to him. As a football fan, what a loser.
I agree with Williams comment that Marijuana is not a performance enhancing drug, thusly they should not be tested for it. It is illegal, and if he is caught by that authorities, should be dealt with in turn. The NFL should make this a non issue by not testing for pot. Performance enhancing drugs only should be the issue because that is what the NFL wants to prevent. Lets face it, a lot of pro atheletes use pot regularly. Booze packs on pounds and leaves you hungover. Pot just makes you happy and hungry, not faster. In short, williams is an idiot and pro sports will see more pot problems because the bulk of the community in pro sports grew up around marijuana, used it, and still succeeded.

Smitty