If Ricky Williams were playing in the National Football League today, he most likely would never have been suspended.
However, the former Miami Dolphins running back played professionally at a time when marijuana use was frowned upon and strictly punished.
Williams was suspended for the entire 2006 season due to a marijuana test, and withdrew from the 2004 season after facing another suspension. So, in reality, marijuana forced him to miss two full seasons.
Because of this, Williams was once considered a troubled athlete. However, cannabis is far from just a “drug” for Williams, who rushed for more than 10,000 yards in his 11 NFL seasons.
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Ricky Williams speaks on stage during the second weekend, first day of the Austin City Limits Music Festival at Zilker Park on October 8, 2021 in Austin, Texas. (Rick Kern/WireImage)
Since then, the former runner has been a big proponent of both medicinal and recreational cannabis and has since founded his own marijuana brand, Highsman. The name derives from the Heisman Trophy he won in 1998.
This weekend, Williams will be in Las Vegas to meet and greet fans ahead of the Super Bowl, uniting cannabis and the world of the NFL on the league's biggest stage.
Imagine reading that 10 years ago: a cannabis promotion at the Las Vegas Super Bowl.
However, the country has made great progress.
“Every year, it gets easier and easier when there's more and more support. I feel lucky to be a part of this movement,” Williams told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
“It's been a big part of my story, but I've been in the industry for about five years, so I've been able to see up close the ins and outs, the ups and downs. I feel very lucky.” … I feel very lucky to be on the ground floor to make this happen.”
Marijuana has been legalized in some form in all but four states and is completely legal in half the country, a massive increase since 2012, when Washington and Colorado became the first states to approve recreational marijuana use.
Williams admits his life could be very different if the country didn't adapt.
Ricky Williams, #34 of the Miami Dolphins, carries the ball during the game against the Buffalo Bills on October 20, 2002 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami. (Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images)
“I'd be in trouble. I'd probably be hiding my cannabis use. But thank goodness as time goes on, people figure things out and it keeps growing,” he says.
However, it is quite surprising to see how far the country has come when it comes to marijuana. Williams said there have been many lives “that have been ruined by the NFL's drug policy and all the drug testing.”
“In 2004, when I ran into all my problems with cannabis, it wasn't common knowledge that it was good for your health,” Williams says. “It's taken a lot of advocates, a lot of people, a lot of sacrifice, people sticking their necks out to tell their story for people to hear. So now, thank God, we're starting to take it for granted, but 20 years ago, “It was still so close to the war on drugs… It's a fascinating topic to see how something changes dynamically.”
It is common for older generations to be jealous of younger ones, who have it easier than them. It's the “I went through it, so you have to go through it too” syndrome.
However, Williams is not at all jealous of today's athletes who can smoke recreationally without problems.
“I understand how difficult the game is. I'm happy for the players. I deeply appreciate how difficult it is to be a professional soccer player. I feel proud that I was able to do something to make their lives a little easier. …
Ricky Williams, number 34 of the Miami Dolphins, tries to get away from Ted Johnson, number 52 of the New England Patriots, at Gillette Stadium on December 29, 2002 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
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“People who have it easy seem fun, but I wouldn't want to be like that. I'm proud of everything I've had to work for, because it's made me the person I am today.”
Of course, one could look at Williams and say he knowingly broke the rules during his playing days and wonder why he would continue to use marijuana.
“I'll be honest, at that point, at that point, I had no idea why I was doing what I was doing,” he said. However, after the NFL sent him to rehab, he found out why.
“And I was doing it because I took a path in life that I was supposed to go down with money and fame, and that's where all the pressure was. But it had very little to do with who I really am and what I want “. I'm really here to do it. So it was like my own consciousness sabotaged the experience so that I would wake up and find my own path. Do you know how I know that's true? Because that's exactly what happened.”
So, that being said, he obviously has no regrets.
Ricky Williams, #34 of the Miami Dolphins, runs with the ball during a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on October 12, 2003 at Alltell Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. (Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images)
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“It's hard for me to regret it, because I'm very happy with the current product, and the current product wouldn't be here if it weren't for those past experiences.”
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