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NEWSMAKER: RICKY WILLIAMSSmoke and Mirrors?
By Doug Harrison, CBC Sports Online | June 1,
2006
Ricky Williams stretches at his first
Toronto Argonauts' practice. (Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld) |
In recent weeks, those unfamiliar with the situation could easily have mistaken Ricky Williams for a pot smoker first and football player second.
His three suspensions in the National Football League for marijuana use have been well-documented in Canada and across North America. The reason for his fourth remains a mystery, though rumours suggest a herbal substance may have triggered it.
Related:Ricky Williams talks to CBC Radio's As it Happens (Interview begins at approximately the 20-minute mark)
It wasn't until Williams lost the appeal of his banishment for the 2006 NFL season on April 25 that the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League pursued the Miami Dolphins running back by putting him on their negotiation list.
A month later, Williams is sporting a different jersey after signing a one-year contract with the Argos. But it's back to Miami after this season, since Toronto won't bind him to the option year that is standard with all CFL contracts.
It's the first time an NFL player under current contract will play north of the border for a year and then return to the United States with the team that owns his existing contract.
Rocky NFL career
For now, Canadians will get an up-close look at a five-foot-10, 220-pound tailback who has made headlines for a different reason since his record-breaking days at the University of Texas in the late 1990s.
Williams has been one of the premier running backs in the NFL, winning the rushing title in 2002, just four years after receiving the Heisman Trophy as the top U.S. collegiate player.
He served a four-game suspension at the start of 2005 for his third violation of the NFL drug program and then returned to the Dolphins, rushing for 743 yards and averaging 4.4 yards per carry.
At his first workout with the Argonauts, Williams appeared nothing like the moody and erratic semi-recluse who baffled teammates, coaches and fans in New Orleans after breaking into the NFL in 1999.
"I think he's an individual that will add a tremendous amount of value to our team, to our community, to our country," Argos co-owner David Cynamon told reporters. "I think this guy is misinterpreted based on his history."
College Standout
His football history began in 1992 at San Diego's Patrick Henry High School, where Williams also juggled baseball, track and wrestling. An all-state outfielder, he was drafted by Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies in 1995 and bid farewell to football after inking a multi-year contract that included a $70,000 US signing bonus.
That fall, Williams returned to the gridiron after accepting a scholarship from UT, with the idea of challenging the records of childhood hero and former NFLer Earl Campbell.
Williams managed to best Campbell's freshman rushing record with 1,052 yards, despite spending most of his time as a blocker, and two years later shattered Campbell's single-season school rushing record with 1,893 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Williams returned for his senior year in 1998 and broke one-time Dallas Cowboy Tony Dorsett's NCAA mark of 6,082 career rushing yards en route to the Heisman.
He brought that momentum to New Orleans, where his rushing totals improved from 884 to 1,000 to 1,245 in his three seasons with the Saints before the trade to Miami in 2002.
Williams followed up a spectacular 2002 campaign with another 1,372 yards on the ground in 2003. He then shocked the football world four days before the start of training camp in 2004, announcing his retirement at age 27.
A time for self-reflection
"At that point in my life, I had no idea what I was doing," Williams told the Toronto Sun recently. "I was a good football player, I had all this money and all these things, but I had no mission. I had no drive, I had no purpose in life."
So, Williams packed his bags for several months of travel to India and Australia, where he lived in a tent community for $7 a day.
"In my tent," Williams told the CBS show 60 Minutes last September, "I had about 30 books, and every morning I'd wake up about 5 in the morning, and I'd take my flashlight and I'd read for a couple of hours.
"Everything from nutrition to to Buddhism to Jesus, to try to figure out, you know, what am I? What am I? So I just kept reading and reading. And couldn't figure out what I was, but I learned a lot."
Yoga Devotee
Over the past two years, Williams has become a certified yoga instructor and studied the ancient healing science from India called Ayurveda. He's far from your stereotypical football player, listing shopping, photography and film among his other passions.
Williams has said he was prepared to teach yoga in San Francisco until the Argos' interest grew — to the tune of a reported $500,000.
It's believed the soon-to-be father of four could use some money, considering he still owes the Dolphins $8.6 million US for breaching his contract when he retired.
According to MSNBC.com, Williams's child-support payment for one of the three children alone comes to $50,400 annually.
"I've found myself now and I'm going deeper into myself," Williams told the Sun. "I wake up every morning and I can't find a thing to be unhappy about. I've come to that point. It's been a process.
"I've learned more in the past two years than I've learned in the previous 26 years."
Now all Williams has to learn is a different playbook and rules with a different team in a different league.
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Born:
May 21, 1977 with twin sister Cassandra in San Diego, Calif.
Drafted: Fifth overall in 1999 by the New Orleans Saints
Traded: By Saints on March 8, 2002, to Miami Dolphins along with a 2002 fourth-round draft pick for first- and fourth-round picks in 2002 and a third-rounder in 2003
Multi-sport athlete: Drafted in eighth round in 1995 by Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies. Agreed to multi-year contract, including $70,000 US signing bonus
College: Williams attended University of Texas, where he graduated with 20 NCAA records, including all-purpose yards (7,206), highest average per carry (6.2), rushing touchdowns (72), and total touchdowns (75)
Known for: The variety of tattoos on his body. Mighty Mouse and the Gemini sign are among his favourites.
Williams isn't the first player the Toronto Argonauts have signed with a decorated past. The list includes:
Robert Baker – Wide receiver was sentenced to 15 years in prison for selling cocaine on the campus of Auburn University in Alabama
Hakim Hill – Running back was the star of Argos training camp last year. He was booted out of two universities (Arizona State and Northern Iowa) and has spent time behind bars for drunken driving
Andre Rison – Former NFL wide receiver signed with Toronto in August 2004, less than two weeks after a judge in Georgia ordered his arrest for failing to pay child support
R. Jay Soward – The Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL suspended the receiver in 2001 for substance abuse violations
Bernard Williams – The offensive tackle and former first-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles admittedly failed 15 NFL drug tests prior to being banished from the league after the 1994 season
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