Monday, July 26, 2004


Yahoo! Sports - NFL - Reflecting on Ricky
I don't want to do it anymore," Williams told Le Batard. "That's it. I don't want to do this anymore. If people really care about me, that would be enough for them.''

This may come as a shock to you, but not every football player loves football. Ricky Williams didn't love the game. He liked it, sure. But love? Not Williams. He likes too many things in life to be in love with football. Traveling, photography, his kids, being alone. And after making $16 million or so in football over his five seasons, he knew he could do what he wanted to do. When you read this, I'm sure many of you are going to think, "What's there not to like about playing a sport and making millions for a living?" Well, to most people, nothing. And to most football players, nothing. But it is physically and mentally demanding. It should not be a crime for a man to want to do other things with his life than play football.

I've been thinking about this story a lot as I looked for blog items this morning.

Congratulations Ricky. It makes my heart feel good to read about a soul that has broken free from the chains, real or imagined, that bound it to misery. It takes quite a bit of courage to walk away from the only thing that you knew would guarantee a luxurious survival for yourself, to walk into the unknown. Granted, he has quite a bit of resources to do this with, but that money will soon run out when you are living the "high life". Will he come back? Maybe. But for now he is free, and I'm proud of him. Good luck to you, man.