Ricky Williams

you know, the more i sit here and think about this, one thing keeps comming to the forefront. its aboout responsibility. what i mean is, he left his team, coaches and fans high and dry right near the worst possible time. if he was so "concerned" about what everybody else thought then he shoulda made sure that they had someone else ready, or at the very least expressed his thoughts to SOMEBODY. he just stepped off with no warning, i'm done, see ya later. he will be seen as a quitter in the eyes of many, includung his teammates, especially his teammates.

 

Agreed. It's his body, his right, but he's part of an organization that obviously relied upon him heavily. He had no "need" - age, for instance, or ability - that kept him from playing. Just selfishness.

 

BS...he fucked them before they fucked him....how many players have walked away during their prime...a hand full...how many have been pushed out or careers cut short due to injury that they never fully recover from...ask a RB how it feels to have cronic knee problems...ask Natrone Means...

 

If your job was as dangerous maybe you would understand....he lost the desire to play...let it be....football is not the end of the world for all players.

 

his last few years he probably played for everybody else. he didn't like what he was doing, made his money and retired, JUST like the rest of us are going to do, as soon as it is possible. I watched my father work in a job that he hated for over 20yrs, because he had his responsiblities, (wife and 3 kids). he died at the age of 51. i garantee he didn't work, earning a living, to make his boss happy, or his co-workers. and i'm pretty sure that 90 some percent of us here don't. we work for our families and to be able to provide for them, and ourselves. you better believe i'll retire early IF i can, and do you think i'm going to worry that it may upset my boss if i retire 5 or 10yrs early? hellllll no. i'm not argueing this point, but maybe giving some more insight. what's right for one isn't always going to be what's right for all.

 

RICKY HAS SEVEN-FIGURE DEBT TO FINS?

A league source tells us that, if Ricky Williams' contract contains language conditioning his signing bonus upon his fulfillment of the deal (a provision found in most NFL deals), then Williams owes the Dolphins in 2004 the sum of $1,249,085, which represents this season's piece of the bonus money he previously received due to his premature retirement.

This specific issue first arose when Barry Sanders abruptly retired from the Lions prior to the 1999 season. Sanders was required by an arbitrator to pay back to the team $1.83 million per year for the remainder of his contract, the prorated annual amount of his bonus.

More recently, the Broncos recovered bonus money from receiver Eddie Kennison, who quit on the team in the middle of the 2001 season.

Earlier in the offseason, the Ravens were prepared to force receiver Terrell Owens to repay bonus money if he refused to report to the team following a trade that ultimately was scuttled via the settlement of his grievance seeking free agency status. Currently, the Packers could recover more than $3 million from cornerback Mike McKenzie if he makes good on threats to retire in lieu of continuing to play for Green Bay.

None of the published reports regarding Williams' retirement have addressed this no-brainer issue, which could give the Dolphins significant leverage in their efforts to get Williams to change his mind.

http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

 

REST OF THE STORY ON RICKY?

While the media continues to get its beauty sleep, skips out on church in lieu of snarfing Homer Simpson's patented moon waffles, and/or continues to recite "we're stunned" by the announcement that running back Ricky Williams is retiring after only five NFL season, we're bringing you the details, the inside poop, and (as outlined below) the speculation from some league insiders as to what might be going on behind the scenes.

And we must preface the following remarks by emphasizing that this specific blurb is rooted in speculation only.

In a conversation with one league insider this morning, we were reminded of the reported fine of up to $650,000 that the league was set to impose on Williams for violation of the league's "smoky, smoky" policy. If, the insider surmised, Ricky feared arriving at camp and failing given yet another pee test, he would have next faced a four-game suspension and another $650,000 fine. The next violation would have resulted in a one-year suspension.

By walking away voluntarily, Williams avoids a potential outcome that would have placed him on the sidelines for 25 percent of the year anyway, and one step closer to a full-season ban.

If this speculation is accurate, look for Ricky to come back in 2005, or possibly sooner. In theory, he could clean out his system over the next month and show up for the start of the regular season. (Could that reported trip to Asia be a 28-day visit to the Betty Ford-son Center?)

And by filing his retirement papers, Ricky can't be fined for missing camp or the preseason. Instead, he can un-retire in September -- and the team can restore him if it so chooses (and so choose it likely would, given the dearth of other options presently available to it).

Again, this is all speculation. We don't know whether or not Ricky has been puffing on the magic dragon. But the insider who formulated this theory is the same person who told us on the day that the Bucs dumped Darrell Russell that the move likely was the result of yet another violation by Russell of the league's substance abuse policy.

http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

 

RICKY HAD BEEN "ACTING ODD" LATELY

The Ricky Williams story continues to unfold.

Multiple acquaintances of Williams' tell us that Ricky had been "acting odd" since returning from a trip to Australia earlier this year.

Per the sources, Williams seemed to be more laid back and less interested in football following his time "down under."

With talk that Williams is making a power play in order to get more money from the Dolphins in order to stick around, the sources say that, in their view, it's not about money. Regardless of whether Williams changes his mind at some point in the future, his decision to stop playing is legitimate, for now.

http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

 

hmmm? How good is the Ganj over there I wonder?

He and Anderson should probably get together and party . . . I think football is now way down the priority list for both of them. :huh:

whatever

 

Anyone on my team, I would want it to be the most important thing.

Plus, his linemen were doing far more dangerous things for him.