Ricky Williams to seek reinstatement to NFL next month

[BengalszoneBilly]

I wonder if he'll be denied as Odell Thurman was. This will be interesting to see how the commish handles THIS particular case!

Ricky Williams to seek reinstatement to NFL next month

Associated Press

MIAMI -- Bad news for NFL linebackers, good news for soap opera fans: Ricky Williams is planning another comeback.

The suspended running back is eligible to seek reinstatement by the NFL after Oct. 1 and will do so, his attorney said Friday.

In recent years, Williams has made more headlines than first downs, playing in only 12 NFL games since the start of the 2004 season. His current suspension began in April 2006 after he violated the league's drug policy for the fourth time, and a positive test for marijuana this April delayed his return.

Williams' attorney, David Cornwell, said they spoke by phone Thursday.

"He sounds wonderful," Cornwell said. "He sounds like he's in a great place, and I'm confident that will come through to the commissioner."

It's uncertain how quickly the 30-year-old Williams might be cleared to return -- or where he would play. He remains under contract with Miami, where he won the NFL rushing title in 2002, but first-year Dolphins coach Cam Cameron has given no indication he wants Williams.

Discussing Williams' most recent relapse in May, Cameron said it's difficult to salvage the careers of troubled players.

"The easiest predictor of future behavior is previous behavior," the coach said.

Dolphins general manager Randy Mueller is unlikely to lobby for Williams' return. It was Mueller who traded Williams to Miami when both were with the New Orleans Saints in 2002.

Since that deal, the Dolphins have endured a five-year playoff drought, the longest in franchise history.

Even if Miami no longer wants Williams, there's likely a market for player who rushed for 3,225 yards in 2002-03 -- assuming he can persuade a team he's eager to play. That has been a subject of debate in the past.

"All indications I have are that he has an interest in playing," Cornwell said. "He's a very eclectic young man with a lot of interests, and I think that's good. It's good for the NFL to have such players.

"I don't think he would go through this process if he didn't have a desire to play."

An NFL spokesman confirmed Williams is eligible to apply for reinstatement after Oct. 1 but declined further comment.

Cornwell said the process to seek reinstatement requires Williams to show he has followed the requirements of the NFL drug policy. Cornwell said commissioner Roger Goodell would decide whether to hold any face-to-face meetings.

Cornwell declined to say how quickly he thought Williams might be cleared to play.

"That's a hard thing to gauge," Cornwell said. "The commissioner has to collect a number of reports and information. I'm sure he'll move expeditiously, but I don't know what that translates into in terms of hours, days or weeks."

The season will be four weeks old before Williams is eligible to seek reinstatement.

Williams spent an extended vacation in Australia and India during a one-year retirement in 2004. He played in the Canadian Football League in 2006, then taught yoga in California.

Cornwell declined to say what Williams has been doing in recent months -- or even what hemisphere he's in.

"I don't know," Cornwell said with a laugh. "I spoke to him over the phone, so I don't want to be misleading."

[Stripes]

He's finished as an NFL running back, so I'm not sure what he hopes to gain from this. Just like T.O., Williams always seems to find a way to squeak his way into the news regardless of massive stories being broken elsewhere.

[BengalszoneBilly]

He's finished as an NFL running back, so I'm not sure what he hopes to gain from this. Just like T.O., Williams always seems to find a way to squeak his way into the news regardless of massive stories being broken elsewhere.

I have to agree. I just think his dwindling bank account (good weed ain't cheap you know!) is driving this.

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

Doesn't matter - he sucked in Canadia, no NFL team will want him. I could see Goodell reinstating him just to let him figure it out when no team calls him.

[ChadJohnson-85]

The Browns will take him.

[HairOnFire]

I'd say Ricky Williams being banned from the NFL is a perfect example of how stupid the NFL Player Conduct Policy can be. Williams never did anything that couldn't be described as entirely harmless yet his career was ruined and the fortunes of his team severely damaged because of what?

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

I'd say Ricky Williams being banned from the NFL is a perfect example of how stupid the NFL Player Conduct Policy can be. Williams never did anything that couldn't be described as entirely harmless yet his career was ruined and the fortunes of his team severely damaged because of what?

Turn off the water works, it's flooding in here.

Williams' career is over because the PLAYERS union negotiated a CBA to that effect. Because the NFL is an entertainment industry and the NFL has decided its core fans don't want to cheer for space-cadet recidivist drug users.

It's not like he didn't know what the penalty was. If he's that much of a f***up, he has only himself to blame.

[HairOnFire]

Turn off the water works, it's flooding in here.

And you wring your hands more than Miss Ellie did worrying about JR.

"Oh my, oh my, oh my. This is terrible. This is horrible. What will happen to the children?" (Sniff)

I didn't write one word defending Williams or claiming that he wasn't responsible for his own fate. I simply pointed out that the actions that got him banned were entirely harmless and any fool could quickly determine they had no impact on his performance or who won games. But that obviously isn't true when debating the decision to ban him for things he did off the field. The NFL's silly decision to legislate morality ended the career of a star player, severaly damaged a franchise, and played a significant role in coaches and front office personel being fired.

And for what? So fans like you can pretend that the game has been rid of players who smoke weed?

[HairOnFire]

Williams' career is over because the PLAYERS union negotiated a CBA to that effect. Because the NFL is an entertainment industry and the NFL has decided its core fans don't want to cheer for space-cadet recidivist drug users.

Take a quick glance at the music you've purchased over your lifetime. How much of that entertainment was produced by people whose drug use is well known?

And that movie you watched the last time you skipped church? How many people involved in making that form of entertainment used drugs?

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

Take a quick glance at the music you've purchased over your lifetime. How much of that entertainment was produced by people whose drug use is well known?

You're either not paying attention or creating bad strawman arguments. My point isn't that drugs are bad (m'kay?). It's that Williams' union agreed to terms of eventual suspension for repeated drug use. And it took him many positive tests. Regardless of whether the rule was fair, it was part of negotiated bargaining, and he knew what the penalty was and did it anyway. No pity.

[HairOnFire]

Take a quick glance at the music you've purchased over your lifetime. How much of that entertainment was produced by people whose drug use is well known?

You're either not paying attention or creating bad strawman arguments. My point isn't that drugs are bad (m'kay?). It's that Williams' union agreed to terms of eventual suspension for repeated drug use. And it took him many positive tests. Regardless of whether the rule was fair, it was part of negotiated bargaining, and he knew what the penalty was and did it anyway. No pity.

If I were you I wouldn't be so quick to point fingers. Because you're obviously not paying attention when you continue to attack points I haven't bothered making.

Do you really think you have to tell me what the NFL's drug policy is or remind me that the NFLPA agreed to drug testing in exchange for other bargaining concessions? Please. I know what the rules are. After all, I'm questioning them and you can't do that without being aware of their existence.

So let's review.

I said that the NFL's player conduct policy was stupid because it can ruin the careers of players, and dramatically erode a franchises ability to win, simply because a player couldn't stop using harmless recreational drugs during his free time. Well forgive me for asking, but who benefits from such a policy? Not Ricky Williams. Not the Dolphins either. And how about Dolphin fans, some of whom purchased tickets specifically to watch him play? As for the NFL itself, is it really a better product for having banned Ricky Williams? (I fail to see how.)

Frankly, it's probably not in the NFL's best interests to demonize something that's harmless when it will never be able to rid it's use from the vast and deep player pool it needs to survive. Granted, it can continue it's current policies but only at the risk of putting an inferior product on the field. (Yeah, I said it.)

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

I said that the NFL's player conduct policy was stupid because it can ruin the careers of players, and dramatically erode a franchises ability to win, simply because a player couldn't stop using harmless recreational drugs during his free time.

You say that like it can happen to anyone, like the weed just jumped up into Ricky's lungs. Horsecrap. He made a conscious decision that he'd rather smoke weed than play football if you recall. What are you, the editor for 'High Times' or something?

Well forgive me for asking, but who benefits from such a policy? Not Ricky Williams. Not the Dolphins either. And how about Dolphin fans, some of whom purchased tickets specifically to watch him play? As for the NFL itself, is it really a better product for having banned Ricky Williams? (I fail to see how.)

The NFL benefits, and the Dolphins to a degree long term, because having the face of the franchise be a pothead oddly enough turns off the families with disposable income that the NFL targets. You can say what they should do, but they run their business as they desire, and they see it as a bad idea to let known recidivist drug users work for them. Probably much like my employer would do. Or yours, I suspect.

Frankly, it's probably not in the NFL's best interests to demonize something that's harmless when it will never be able to rid it's use from the vast and deep player pool it needs to survive. Granted, it can continue it's current policies but only at the risk of putting an inferior product on the field. (Yeah, I said it.)

The vast majority of players have sufficient self-control to stay off drugs most of the time. Unless you're really attempting to claim that the long-term suspension of about 1 out of 1500 players substantially degrades the quality of the NFL product. The NFL can live without Ricky Williams, and is doing so quite well. I think your argument has much more to do with your own personal feelings about pot than it does with the ultimate on-field product, which is doing just fine.

Unless you're Ricky's agent, let it go. We've got a lot more to worry about after this week.

[HairOnFire]

You say that like it can happen to anyone, like the weed just jumped up into Ricky's lungs. Horsecrap.

Once again you argue a point that I haven't bothered making. In fact, if you weren't so busy knocking down your own strawmen I doubt you'd have anything to say.

[HairOnFire]

The NFL benefits, and the Dolphins to a degree long term, because having the face of the franchise be a pothead oddly enough turns off the families with disposable income that the NFL targets.

Would it be fair to say that you count yourself amongst the family members who are turned off by players who smoke pot? And if so, can you now claim that after banning..."1 out of 1500 players"....you now believe the NFL is free of drug users? Because if you did believe that, well...it would be pretty funny.

As for your rant about the NFL being family oriented entertainment that must be safeguarded from harmless drug users....how do you ignore the fact that the NFL is almost entirely built on extreme violence that frequently results in devastating physical injuries that maim and cripple it's players?

[HairOnFire]

The NFL can live without Ricky Williams, and is doing so quite well. I think your argument has much more to do with your own personal feelings about pot than it does with the ultimate on-field product, which is doing just fine.

The NFL can do quite well without any of it's players. After all, we fans root for the laundry far more than the vast majority of individuals we know almost nothing about. That said, Ricky Williams was once a very good football player and a rather interesting character, and I'm not sure you'd get very far if you actually attempted to show how the NFL is better without him. And that's probably why you haven't bothered.