Ricky Business

The story of Ricky Williams is a peculiar one. Ricky was the star running back for the University of Texas, where he broke the rushing record held by Tony Dorsett. He'd hold the new record for only a year until Ron Dayne of Wisconsin would break it the following year.

Mike Ditka was so enamored of Williams that he gave up all his draft picks just to get him. Ditka didn't coach the New Orleans Saints much after that.

Williams had some social anxiety disorder, and used to wear a football helmet to interviews. It took a while before he managed to cope with that. Then, he joined the Miami Dolphins. Sometime, last season, he quit football. He said he needed to get away from it all. Part of it stemmed from the recent drug tests he had taken--and failed. This was his third test, and he was about to be suspended.

In an interview with 60 Minutes, he came across as a total flake. Intelligent, to be sure, but a flake. He claimed he had no good reason to leave the team except he wasn't happy, and he wanted to get answers. However, part of the issue may have been his marijuana use. Williams has also fathered three children with three different women.

A lot of athletes, especially football players, get pegged as dumb. Football is a sophisticated enough sport that you can't be too much of an idiot to play. Even so, you spend a lot of time thinking only about football, so in an odd way, it's refreshing to see Williams try to grapple with other issues in his life, even as he hasn't quite fully grasped what that is. It sounds as if Williams hasn't always taken the wisest course of action.

Recently, he announced that he wants to return to football. Part of the issue is financial. Due to his three kids, he needs some income to make payments, and he does one thing fairly well, and that's play football. Whether the team can really accept him back is another story. This is the kind of fodder that keeps sports commentators plenty busy. They talk about whether Ricky's teammates will reject him, whether any team will want him.

This kind of commentary reflects the "team-first" attitude that teams need in order to succeed, and yet, if you don't care that much about sports, it sounds totally inane. I understand that they try to have this notion for business too, but it can sound just as inane there. Ultimately, Ricky does what he thinks is best for him, though in this case, it's hard to say what's best for him. And even has he abandoned his teammates, they are certainly accountable for playing well despite him. To somehow believe Ricky Williams is the savior of the Dolphins seems too hard to believe. They could have done just as badly with him as without.

I can't say I know Ricky Williams that well. I've only heard him in this one interview, and he came across as intelligent if offbeat. Maybe teams don't want someone this colorful, but he's certainly someone different from the usual kind of player in the NFL. He's no Terrell Owens. He's not exactly a prima donna. He's simply Ricky, and if there's no easy way to peg who or what he is, that makes him all the more fascinating.