Can you agree that because of him leaving the team in a lurch right before the season, and by the terms of his contract, he owes the Dolphins $8.5 million. He hasn't paid it. Essentially, he has run off with $8.5 million of the Dolphins' money.
Wow. I was a huge Ricky fan at UT and when he was with the Saints. Watching that interview was absolutely painful. This guy is immensely confused. As much as he'd like to have you believe his life is great and he's at peace...that's not the picture I get. He admitted his story of leaving the league because he wasn't content with it anymore was "b.s." Said the reason he left was because he was afraid of people knowing that he failed another drug test. Then goes on to say that he doesn't care what people think about him. The guy is mixed up. I hope he gets himself together. I could not care less if the guy plays football again...and frankly, I can't imagine a team taking a gamble on him again.
Actually, "flake" fits him pretty good. This has nothing to do with Ricky being a nice guy, which im sure he is, or being a free spirit, which he obviously is. Being a flake has to do more with his actions than who he is.
As a lifelong Dolphin fan and a huge RW fan it`s hard for me to seperate the man from the player although I have started to soften on my position that he is a Loser. I can supprt everything he`s done EXCEPT for the fact the way he left The Phins. To make a call on your way out of town without owning up to your responsibilties or talking to the players without explaining why he was doing this is the most selfish part of the whole incident. I`m glad he "appears" to be happy, but I fully expect him to come back when he runs low on funds and his children need money
As long as he's happy that's fine. He still has to live up to his contract he signed which probably means paying back part of the signing bonuses which he earned for fulfilling the contract. Again I'm glad the guy is happy but I do figure he'll be back in the NFL.
i have to agree with some ppl on seeing him happy and that is rare for most ppl to be honestly content with your life so more power to him. i went to UT as well and i've met him several times while living in Jester and he is a really nice guy. this is selfish, but i would've liked to see my autograph by him to be worth something one day. but more importantly, i would've liked to see him break tremendous records in the NFL like he did at UT and do to the NFL like he did for UT, but alas, that's not what he wants. how many of you have worked hard for something-a degree, a job, etc and once you got there, you realized that it's not everything you thought it would be? he's smart and capable enough to do something abt it which is better than the rest of us that b!tch and complain abt what we do everday. i agree that how he left the dolphins was not the best approach and how the fans there would have negative feelings towards him. esp the ones that bought season tix, etc b/c it's a committment that fans make to their team as well. BUT, how many times has an organization signed on players for a contract and traded them halfway thru the season. that's the organizations way of saying "hey, we don't want you anymore." why does a player have to be loyal if an organization can't? i know it's about money and contracts and it's a business to win games, but still...i think players have the absolute right to quite when they want to. also, ricky is extremely talented with an athletic physique that is hard to compare. his speed, his size...he's amazing and i think all of us can agree to that. just b/c he's blessed with that talent and gift (like he said in wallace's interview) doesn't mean that is his life's destiny the way the media makes him out to be. he's free to choose what he wants to do with his life. as long as he (or anyone) doesn't harm others while doing so, then so be it...live life the way you want to live. -ruby
no one is talking about rights here. yeah, we all have the right to dick each other over, daily. we're talking more about responsiblity, here. the trade scenario is an imperfect analogy...because when a guy gets traded, he still gets paid...he still receives the value of the contract he negotiated for. in ricky's instance, he now owes money back to the dolphins. so...the rights portion of this conversation is taken care of. that's not what people are really complaining about. and yes..you're free to live however you want. but when go on breaking promises...lying about why you're breaking those promises..and then revealing that you broke that promise because you'd rather smoke pot...well..you can't expect a lot of respect out of that. sympathy, for sure. i feel sorry for the guy, absolutely. he seems to live in a very illusory world. but it's hard for me to have a lot of respect for the guy. that's certainly not the kind of behavior i'd encourage in others.
And I don't have a problem with you stating any of that. Nor would I argue that by my standards, that doesn't equate to a successful life, although since I don't expect everyone to have the same standards as me it's irrelevant. As long as you can see the difference between what you posted here and the garbage that got locked-- namely, you didn't use the Rush Limbaugh filter on your post in this thread-- you're in good shape. I would say my position on this whole story is somewhere in line with Isabel's and MadMax's. Ricky's choices are his to make, but he had obligations as a professional football player regarding when he made said choices. And the way his story keeps changing every two weeks makes him look a lot less sure of his decisions.
The comparison I just thought of re: Ricky's retirement was Steve McNair's impending early retirement. Let's say McNair does decide to walk away after this year. He's maybe not quite as important to the Titans as Ricky was to the Dolphins (Tennessee's offense seems to be playing pretty well without McNair), but he's still the centerpiece of their franchise. So McNair starts thinking maybe he'd like to avoid ending up like Earl Campbell; this is supposedly as least part of Ricky's reasoning. What does McNair do? With four weeks left in the regular season: McNair: "I'm in pain. I'm thinking of retirement." Media: "REALLY??? OMG!" McNair, a week later: "Yes, really. I'm considering it." Tennessee is now in a position to work with McNair, find out if there are ways to incentivize him to continue playing, and prepare to draft a replacement this spring (or go after one in free agency) assuming they're not happy with Billy Volek. I'd say that's a damn sight better than retiring without notice after the draft and free-agency period are over.
Humerous. I do not have time to be humorous this morning. I'm on page 17 of 20 for my Faulkner paper, mainly about Isaac McCaslin and his relinquishing of his inheritance to redeem his forefathers of their wrongs in slavery.
man i dont see how people can post crap like...well just as long as ricky is happy. the guy is a flakey selfish bum. sure he may be a nice guy but that doesn't change how he has acted. when i first heard he retired i thought it was kind of cool that he just said he was gonna do his own thing, but the more that i hear one of his former coaches who is a radio host now comment on him whenever something new comes up with him the more i see how ricky is just a selfish bum who can't commit to anything. there is no way the guy can be defended. he is more committed to weed than his kids...he is simply a loser.
Is this the same guy who had such a problem commiting that he broke the all-time rushing record in college, or is it the same selfish player who signed one of the worst contracts in he NFL because he wanted his contract to be based on what he accomplished?
It's the same guy who wasn't able to commit to any of the 3 women he fathered illegitimate children with. It's the same guy who wasn't able to commit to earning his degree despite his 4th year at UT which was in part to be able to earn his degree. It's the same guy who wasn't able to commit to his teammates in Miami. Heck, the only thing that he is able to commit to is his chronic. *but he was a great football player
I'm not going to defend him with the kids. As far as getting a degree, who gives a flip that he didn't get his degree. He's a football player who made millions playing football. Who cares? Jumping on a guy who made millions of dollars because he didn't get a degree is about the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Yeah, he really needs a degree to run off tackle.
My only beef with what he did...if he owes $8.5m and hasn't paid it back, then he's not taken care of his kids and wasn't really free to do as he chose...at least no more free than i am to decide not to pay my VISA bill (even if that would make me happy...and my VISA bill's not $8.5m -- at least not yet).
yes when he was in college he was committed to football. does that mean things haven't changed? and i don't see what the contract has to do with how he prefers weed to not taking care of his kids. i mean what would you call someone who you knew that decided to quit his job and sporadically visit his kids so he could smoke out? a winner?
Williams' rookie contract with the Saints was so bad because it was negotiated by rapper/sports agent/aspiring NBA player Master P.
