Ricky Williams pulls a Barry Sanders

[anjang86]

Williams is retiring at the age of 27... he just doesn't have the heart for the game anymore...

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/columnists/dan_le_batard/9237156.htm?1c

[gKash187]

Yea I read about that early, what a pity.

[lax_warrior]

that seems kinda stupid. but i guess he has his reasons

[timmy]

Originally posted by lax_warrior
that seems kinda stupid. but i guess he has his reasons

yes he does. he wants to smoke his weed in peace. who doesn't want that?

RASTA PRIDE!

[bleedamerica19]

its a shame...

[shocker]

Its ashame all his God given talent will be put to no use, but I think he should be able to do whatever makes him happy. And if that means going to Asia and smoking grass non-stop then so be it...

[redsox5459]

if i made a ton of money and was set for life
i would not want to get beat up everysunday for money i cant use

[SullyLax]

on a ricky williams note, he was caught on snoop dogg's GGW. Silly ricky.
http://collegehumor.com/?image_id=60607

NOTE: Content on that site not suitable for those under 18. That picture is fine, but I'm not responsible for the rest of it.

[Ben]

This is just pathetic. Nobody should admire Ricky for doing this. Would you admire a teammate who quit right before your season started, especially if your entire team's season was dependent on his play? If he knew he was going to do this, he should have at least taken the Mike Powell approach and indicated since the beginning of last season that he wouldn't want to play so his team could deal with it before it became too late.

[gKash187]

He'll smoke weed for a few years then will get bored and will try to come back to the NFL but then will be told it's too late. He's wasting his limited atheltic peak point. He'll be sorry he did this in the future.

[wrgolee9]

ricky williams was one of my favorite players..... it sux that hes peacin it .... the heart must have gone away when he cut the hair....(go long hair)

[anjang86]

Originally posted by Ben
This is just pathetic. Nobody should admire Ricky for doing this. Would you admire a teammate who quit right before your season started, especially if your entire team's season was dependent on his play? If he knew he was going to do this, he should have at least taken the Mike Powell approach and indicated since the beginning of last season that he wouldn't want to play so his team could deal with it before it became too late.

Ricky never wanted to be admired, he was a loner and his teamattes thought he was wierd anyways. He doesn't care about stuff like this.

[Thrillhouse]

If the guy doesn't want to play anymore, he doesn't want to play anymore. I wouldn't want to play with a guy who didn't want to be there. No matter how much talent someone has, if thier heart isn't in you, they will never be as good as they could be.

The timing is pretty bad. If he would have done it a week earlier the Dolphins could have made a move for Eddie George.

[timmy]

thrill, you can't be serious. doesn't want to play? if he didn't want to play why would he do wint sprints with the team in 90 degree weather? why would he not miss a team meeting, and even lose weight for the season? he wants to play, he's just confused right now.

[jamguk03]

Ricky has never liked the NFL, it's not really a secret. He doesn't care about fame, or money, or any of that ****. If he doesn't want to play, I don't want to see him out there not giving it 100%, and Ricky has always been my favorite player. I'll miss watching him play, but if he doesn't want to play, why the hell should he?

[HdGLaxWarrior]

It's a shame because the Dolphins built thier whole team around him, and he just ups and leaves. What a fool, walking away from all that the NFL has to offer.
And RedSox, you dont play for the money, you play for the love of the game...

[26Easy]

i was watchin espn and i think they said something about a problem with his knees and the coachs werent letting him rest his knees and he blew out his knee or something and he didnt wanna be in those situations anymore or something

[Cip]

Originally posted by LaxMiddie32
What a little woman. All he had to do is train a couple hours a day and play in games while he was in the prime of his life. Thats about the easiest job you will ever get...
you my friend, are completly ignorent. how about you try to take the pounding that a NFL halfback takes when playing isn't what you love to do. the fact is it's Ricky's life, and who are any of you to judge what he did. he left the sport so he could avoid be judged by dip****s who think they know anything about him or his life.

[spenny]

Originally posted by Cip
you my friend, are completly ignorent. how about you try to take the pounding that a NFL halfback takes when playing isn't what you love to do. the fact is it's Ricky's life, and who are any of you to judge what he did. he left the sport so he could avoid be judged by dip****s who think they know anything about him or his life.

thanks, for smacking down that fool.

at age 37, i have pain just walking. the damage was caused playing lax in college, now college lax isnt college football, and college football isnt pro football.
one of my dad's friend played o-line for the broncos, he cant lift his arms above his shoulders.
try to imagine the damage those guys are doing to their bodies. i read somewhere that the average life expectancy of a former NFLer is 55 years, as opposed to 73 years for the average man, you are giving up 20 years of your life to play football.

[FredtheCat]

Originally posted by LaxMiddie32
What a little woman. All he had to do is train a couple hours a day and play in games while he was in the prime of his life. Thats about the easiest job you will ever get...

Wow. By far the most ignorant comment I've seen on this subject. Yeah, basing your whole life around pro football, working out and running constantly, getting tackled by 250lb linebackers week after week, and having to live up to the expectations that fans and coaches have for you is definitely the easiest job you can have in life. Ricky had tons of pressure on him, and he apparently just wanted to take a load off his shoulders.

[NickBritt]

Everyone has pressure... but if you are being paid that much get over it damn baby...

[FredtheCat]

Heh. I'd love to see you play in the NFL, tough guy.

[maclax16]

i have meet him before when he went to u of texas and seemed real nice i dont blame him i wouldent want to play football and he already has enough money to have a good time

[Cip]

Originally posted by NickBritt
Everyone has pressure... but if you are being paid that much get over it damn baby...
Wow. So your saying that the presure that you have in your club lacrosse team is any where close to the pressure of the NFL where millions of people watch your every move?

[timmy]

just playing pop warner high school varsity i have broken my elbow, arm, leg, 2 concussions, lost 2 teeth, broken my jaw, and have had surgery on my knee. that's from playing fullback. and i'm not a tiny guy that is going to get bruised on every play, and just think of the beating ricky must take.

[wwlaxgoalie]

you guys do know he does take medication for him mind, and my brother met him a few times and one of the times he was on the corner of a street downtown and he was totally not his cool, hardcore running back self, he was like lost in his own mind, so this could be one of those times or he could be done for sure, i think after a few months he will miss the NFL and he will return later in the year, or perhaps next year.

"Everyone has pressure... but if you are being paid that much get over it damn baby... "

not everyone in the NFL plays for the money, think about it Ricky Williams is a star player, he broke the record for most yards by a NCAA-NFL player in college, and he makes roughly 4 million, so apparently he doenst care as much for the money as he would rather be playing, and yall are right, the NFL is a beating, any professional sport is a beating. Apparently he lost his desire, and heart to play, but like i said, give him some time, well see what happens.

[jamguk03]

Everyone has pressure... but if you are being paid that much get over it damn baby...

Dumbest thing I've ever seen posted here. He didn't play for the money, he played because he loved it. He said before he even started playing pro that when it quit being fun he would move on. He doesn't have the heart for it any more, and he doesn't care about losing that paycheck. There are people on this planet who have other priorities besides money.

[timmy]

ricky is on medication. he has socail anixety or something like that. he doesn't like the spotlight, that's all i know for sure.

to put it in words for you red sox fan, ricky is about the equivalent of manny in terms of being in touch with reality.

[Alex]

The problem isn't why he did it, he's perfectly entitled to take his ball and go home if he doesn't like football. The problem is, as Ben said, that the whole Dolphins organization has been planning on him coming back, and he's walking out in the last minute. This will cost quite a few people their jobs, in addition to Wannstedt. Ricky clearly has some personal problems with being in the limelight, which I hope he can deal with. If he doesn't want to take the pounding an NFL rb does, that's completely understandable. Jerome Bettis, one of the big boys you think would be dishing it out more than receiving, always commented about how he has to crawl around his house on Mondays because he can't walk. That's not a 2-hand touch football practice he goes through; his style also leaves him to take even more of a beating than the average rb. So the issue becomes, is that is he being dishonest to his teammates by doing this now, and not in February, when the Fins could plan their offseason for his loss. At the same time, I can completely understand him not wanting to take that abuse if he really doesn't like the lifestyle in the first place, and sometimes decisions like these don't conform to the nice schedule of the NFL season.

[Thrillhouse]

While I'll agree this isn't the best timing, the Dolphins would be in the same bad way had he suffered a season ending injury in the first week of camp.
Besides, he shaved his head. All of his power was probably in his hair...

[stegmakk]

Funny...I woulda titled it...
Rickey Williams pulls a Mike Powell :jk

[Thrillhouse]

At least Ricky called to say he wasn't going to be there...

[jackal3688]

As a Dolphins fan, I'm PISSED. What a bad time to retire. I would understand a little more if he gave them one more year and gave them a chance to replace him in the draft or free agency, but what bad timing... Why Ricky Why?...

[anjang86]

Originally posted by LaxMiddie32
What a little woman. All he had to do is train a couple hours a day and play in games while he was in the prime of his life. Thats about the easiest job you will ever get...

yea thats ALLL there is too it...

pfft... :bs

[HdGLaxWarrior]

More like: Ricky Williams pulls a Bob Marley

[powellfan1]

Nobody but Ricky knows why he retired. Nobody else but him knows if he played for the $ either. But we can have our theories. He'll probably die or get arrested and put in jail someday for doing drugs and he'll be a bum. He was always a bit weird. I mean, its not normal for people to have his hairstyle, and then go bald either.

[timmy]

ricky never wanted be a pro football player. he wanted to be a great college player. that's it. but he's one of those people who tried to please everyone, and what his friends and family wanted was for him to play football.
while on tour with lenny kravitz, his eyes were opened. he figured out that he couldn't please people until he was happy. is that selfish? ya, but he has the right to be selfish.
ricky should do what ricky wants to do. he wants to go back to school, and become a teacher, or go to south america. maybe after a year or two he will decide to return to football.
personally, i think ricky will be back.

[jazzjon9]

at some point the millions you earn aren't worth the price of your body. he knows he could become legendary, but he doesn't want to kill his body to get there. his knees are probably already crap, and he just wants to live his life now. He probably smoked pot because he couldn't handle the stress he was under. Lets say he only rushes 50 yards in one game. he would take so much abuse its unbelievable. he goes out on the street and people either riddle him or praise him. im not surprised that he used pot at all

[anjang86]

omg you have to be kidding me...

http://www.screwricky.com/

[Thrillhouse]

Originally posted by nrvlc
omg you have to be kidding me...

http://www.screwricky.com/

Some people have way too much time on thier hands.

Has anyone posted that jib-jab thing yet? http://www.jibjab.com/

[jamguk03]

The Dolphins organization will survive. The NFL is a ****ing business, Ricky doesn't owe them anything. His teammates will still be making the same amount of money, and it's not like they were going to the super bowl anyway (anyone who thinks they had a shot is dreaming, they had about as good a shot as the Texans).

[spenny]

from SI.com today:

The release of Rod Woodson and John Mobley on Tuesday after they failed physicals underscores just what a tough business the NFL is. If your company fired you because you got injured or sick -- especially on the job -- you wouldn't need John Edwards to win the resulting lawsuit. Not so in the NFL, where the second a team feels you can't physically perform, you're gone. This makes me wonder two things. First, maybe NFL execs who are privately blasting Ricky Williams for selfishly walking out on his team should ask themselves how quickly they'd release him if he came up lame.

[spenny]

more from SI on the ricky situation:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/jeffri_chadiha/07/27/blog.0727/index.html

[senor_k]

I don't see how that could be called "Selfish." He doesn't owe anything to the Dolphins, he doesn't owe anything to their fans. I support his decision. If he doesn't want to play football, he doesn't have to.

[waxon]

This Sucks so much. Now our football team is gonna suck again.

[Thrillhouse]

How would everyone feel if you played lacrosse with someone who was really talented but he (or she) decided he (or she) just didn't want to play anymore?

Better yet, has anyone ever experienced that?

[senor_k]

Sure, I'd feel bummed out, but I wouldnt be going around complaining that he OWES me something.

[BTlaxripper]

Originally posted by Thrillhouse
How would everyone feel if you played lacrosse with someone who was really talented but he (or she) decided he (or she) just didn't want to play anymore?

Better yet, has anyone ever experienced that?

COUGH::COUGHmikepowellCOUGH::COUGH

[Thrillhouse]

Do you think Mike Powell was obligated to play just because Baltimore picked him?

[Petem0ss]

I think he'll eventually be remebered for squandering some amazing talent, but if he ends up being happy, who can argue that he didn't do the right thing?

It creates an opportunity for someone else that wants it more. I could see his teammates resenting him more if he played half-azzed & cashed the check but really didn't give a rip. This way they'll get over it sooner.

He's a guy that I could see resurfacing in any number of places, minor-league baseball, a reality show, jail, a monestary, a percussionist in a reggae band, a mental hospital, co-host of Wild on!...he couldn't do anything that would surprise me.

And for all of the people feeling sorry for the Dolphins, they had to know that they were hitching their wagon to someone prone to ups & downs. Just ask his previous employers (the Saints)! Not having plan B is their own fault.

He's a free spirit, hope he finds happiness.

[Thrillhouse]

It looks like he failed another drug test before he decided to retire...


http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1848492

[anjang86]

Originally posted by Thrillhouse
Do you think Mike Powell was obligated to play just because Baltimore picked him?

is Williams obligated to play?

[Thrillhouse]

Originally posted by nrvlc
is Williams obligated to play?

...I'm playing devils advocate here (and I like arguing with you)

Williams signed a contract saying he would, Powell didn't. You could make an argument that he was.

[Cip]

but in the nfl the team has the option to void the contract at any time, so why shouldnt the player be able to?

[senor_k]

If the team has the option to void the contract, then doesn't that defeat the purpose?

[Cip]

thats the purpose of signing bonuses, they're guaranteed

[GIattack]

i hate ricky willams he was on my fantasy football team! now im screwd