No automatic suspension for Williams

I am so tired of talking about Ricky Williams. Sure, some of you will say, “what? it’s only been one day!”. But it hasn’t. It’s been 3 years. Since he retired to smoke, travel the world, live in a tent. 3 years. Now, it will be the hot subject for at least another 3 months.

The recent failed drug test of Ricky Williams may not trigger the usual “automatic suspension”of 1 year, because he was on suspension. The NFL medical advisers have recommended that Williams not be allowed to apply for reinstatement until September. Effectively doing 2 things. 1: removing any value for a possible trade, and 2: removing him from any training camp conditioning programs.

This has become the TV show that should have been canceled years ago, but for whatever reason, say lack of programming, it hangs around. Even the reruns are not that good.

Ricky has become the “great divide”. Visit a forum, or a newspaper, a blog site, and read the rants of the bloggers, the posters, the columnists. This guy is irked at that guy. Friends are taking up sides against each other over the legality of “pot”. Call Ricky a “pot head” and someone takes offense to that. Someone gets mad, someone goes off on a tirade. All because of a “pot head”. I would say that is without question, reporting at its best.

Sportswriters are retracting what they said only a week ago in support of Williams. Others are taking the “I told you so” approach with little jabs. I know. I’ve read them. In fact for the last 2 months, I have been talking about why Ricky should not be in Miami. Why he should be traded. Why he cant be relied upon. Yes, I was right. But I wish I would have been wrong. Both for Ricky’s sake, his family’s sake, and for the Dolphins’ sake. Not for mine. It’s not a hollow victory to be right. It’s just hollow.

Still, what I find humorous is the “this is a witch hunt” posts. The “they are out to get him“. “Roger Goodell is blah blah blah“. “they just don’t like Ricky.” Because of course, the NFL has nothing better to do with their time, than to see to it that Ricky Williams never plays in the NFL again. Ricky failed another test. Ricky is an addict. Ricky is a lot of things. What Ricky is not, is dependable. There is no one to blame in this. Not the NFL, not the lawmakers who made “pot” illegal, not even Ricky Williams. He owes nothing to no one. Except 8 million dollars to Wayne Huizenga. But that’s between them.

Ricky is a nice guy. It’s hard to listen to him speak and dislike him. Ricky is that person you know that you like but you’re not really friends with, but you still try and help him out. The one who just can’t seem to grow up. You just have to stop at some point and ask “is he worth it?”. In the case of Ricky Williams, that time has come, and my answer is no. He is not worth it.

So what now? Obviously Ricky will be the subject of a hundred questions from now until Goodell makes a decision, which now won’t come until Ricky sends his application papers in September. Should Miami cut him? They sure as heck can’t trade him. Keeping him would cost the fins what some $600 – $800 thousand? That is the question that needs to be asked. I already know the Dolphins stance on this. “The Miami Dolphins do not comment on players that are not on this team, nor players on the NFL substance abuse program.” I know, that’s what the media relations guy told me when I called them.

So for now we wait. We dig in our heels and we ready ourselves for another 3 month bout of bickering. Lets just hope that Lorenzo Booker and Ronnie Brown look good in training camp or it will get a lot worse.

I really wish I could stop talking about Ricky Williams. But damned if he just doesn’t keep giving me a reason.