Ricky Williams tells Dolphins he's retiring

[Scott]

MIAMI (July 25, 2004) -- Ricky Williams has decided to retire at the peak of his career, stunning the Miami Dolphins and leaving them with an enormous void in their backfield one week before the start of training camp.

The 27-year-old Williams, who rushed for 3,225 yards in two seasons with the Dolphins, told them this week of his decision before leaving town, a team source told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

His retirement after just five NFL seasons caught the Dolphins by surprise. The news was first reported by The Miami Herald.

"You can't understand how free I feel," Williams told the Herald in a cell phone interview July 24 before boarding a plane in Hawaii and heading to Asia to begin several months of travel.

Long ambivalent about life in the sports spotlight, Williams said there's no chance he'll change his mind, and he plans to file his retirement papers with the NFL on July 26 or 27. He told coach Dave Wannstedt of his decision July 23 and said Wannstedt tried to persuade him to reconsider.

Miami opens camp July 30.

Williams won the Heisman Trophy at Texas in 1998, and former New Orleans Saints coach Mike Ditka used all of his draft picks to acquire the standout running back the following spring. Williams played three seasons for New Orleans but didn't blossom until he was dealt in 2002 for two first-round draft picks to the Dolphins.

It was the team's biggest trade since 1970, and at times it looked like a steal. Williams led the NFL in 2002 with 1,853 yards rushing and broke nine team records. Last season he ran for 1,372 yards despite little offensive support.

"I'd love to talk to him and try to talk him out of it," Ditka said from Chicago. "It seems kind of foolish to me, but I don't know what's on his mind. You're just destroying a great career. He's a talent. To let that all go to waste doesn't make a lot of sense."

In some ways Williams' decision to retire in his prime was not a surprise because he was never the stereotypical football player. His passions include shopping and photography, and in 2001 he was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, a condition contributing to his extreme shyness. While with the Saints, he often conducted interviews while wearing his helmet. He said he felt like a weirdo in New Orleans but professed to be happy during his two seasons with Miami.

A vacation this offseason to Australia may have whetted his appetite for more travel. He returned from that trip sporting a shaved head instead of his distinctive dreadlocks.

He's not the first running back to retire at or near his peak. His friend Jim Brown quit at 30, Barry Sanders retired at 31 and Robert Smith quit at 28.

But his decision was deflating for South Florida sports fans, who had been buzzing about the Miami Heat's acquisition last week of Shaquille O'Neal.

The decision by Williams, who was to make about $3.5 million this season, is the latest setback in an abysmal offseason for the Dolphins. It started with a strange organizational reshuffling that included the hiring of former quarterback Dan Marino as vice president. He resigned 22 days later.

The Dolphins promoted running backs coach Joel Collier to offensive coordinator, but he later returned to his old job, citing health reasons. Tight end Randy McMichael was arrested following a domestic dispute, and Pro Bowl linebacker Zach Thomas underwent knee surgery that will force him to miss part of the exhibition season.

And now, due to the timing of Williams' retirement, the Dolphins head into training camp with few options for filling the position. Eddie George, who might have been a possibility, signed with the Dallas Cowboys this week.

For the moment the job belongs to fourth-year backup Travis Minor, who has yet to start an NFL game.

Wannstedt was out of town July 25 and not immediately available for comment. Phone messages left with Dolphins general manager Rick Spielman and Williams' agent, Leigh Steinberg, weren't returned.

John Bianco, assistant director for media relations at Texas, said Williams told him a few weeks ago he expected to make this season his last. Bianco said he anticipates that Williams will return to Texas to earn his degree in education and pursue work with children.

"He's always known his best years would come after football," Bianco said. "Football was a small part of his life."

http://nfl.com/teams/story/MIA/7524441

 

[cubedbee]

This was a selfish move on his part. I respect that football isn't the most important thing in his life, and that now that he's rich from the sport, he would rather pursue a more fulfilling and less stressful life. However, the timing of this decision seems as if it is meant to hurt his team. It is very late in the offseason already, and his team has used the trading opportunities they've had to build a team that is centered around him. If he had announced even 1 week earlier, they would have had a chance to trade for another quality running back, but as it is, Miami is really going to be hurt this season. He should have given them one more season and let them know beforehand that it would be his last, so that they could have planned to fill his void.

 

[Scott]

I agree... he should have let them know earlier. They would probably have gone after Eddie George or some other back in free agency. I wouldn't be surprised if the Dolphins trade for someone because their b/u Travis Minor has very little experience. I was thinking they should go after Mo Williams or Onterrio Smith who are both good backs up in Minnesota playing behind Michael Bennett. Another good back is Najeh Davenport (former Hurricane) who backs up Ahman Green in Green Bay.

Ricky Williams was busted for marrijuana possession earlier in the off-season and its pretty much common knowledge that he's been using the stuff. It was rumored he was going to be suspended and/or fined but periodic drug test go along with that. I think it came down to a choice between pot and football. It looks like we know which one is more important to him.

 

[ThinkerMan]

I heard he was heading for Thailand after he quit.

My guess it, it would take about 8 months of detox to get him back in the league after his trip this week, even if he wanted to come back.

 

[Scott]

I also read that he couldn't tell coach Wannstedt in person, but rather called him on his cell phone.

 

[Scott]

• Report: Ricky facing suspension if he returns

If Ricky Williams has a change of heart and rejoins the Miami Dolphins this year, he won't return until he serves a four-game NFL suspension after having failed a drug test for a third time.


On Thursday, Williams told Dan Le Batard, a reporter for the Miami Herald and for ESPN The Magazine, that he learned of his failed drug test and subsequent suspension just days before making his decision to retire.


The star running back said the developments played a part in his sudden retirement, but that it wasn't the only issue involved in his decision. Williams insisted there were "a hundred reasons" for leaving the NFL.


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


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 Thursday when reached by The Associated Press.


Williams also told Le Batard that he had wanted to quit playing football even before testing positive a second time for marijuana use in May and getting fined $650,000.


Though Williams appealed the fine, he learned last week the appeal had been denied. In the interim, Williams told the paper he'd been smoking marijuana while traveling with Lenny Kravitz, who was on tour in Europe at the time. Once Williams returned, he was tested again -- and again failed. Williams said he'd stopped taking a masking agent, called "Extra Clean," that he has said he'd used to avoid testing positive during his two seasons in Miami.


After failing his first drug test in 2002, not long after his trade to Miami, Williams was enrolled in the league's substance abuse program. He had weekly appointments with a therapist, he said, and faced eight-to-ten random urine tests every month -- tests he'd beaten by downing 32 ounces of "Extra Clean" followed by the same amount of water.


In emphasizing that his lifestyle choices, rather than the failed tests, had driven his decision to retire from football, Williams told the Herald that he sees nothing wrong with smoking marijuana -- that in fact, it's "just a plant." He also said he admired reggae singer Bob Marley, who was reputed to smoke it every day before his death.


Also, Williams, who has been diagnosed with a social-anxiety disorder and was taking the anti-depressant Paxil, told the paper that he'd stopped taking the medication he'd once been a spokesman for. He said it interfered with his diet.


''Marijuana is 10 times better for me than Paxil,'' he said.

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

 

[Et3rnal]

Sad very sad, talk about Priorities. The Dolphins are better off without him.