The Billiken's Bluff

First, I would like to thank you for providing me with the motivation I needed to fnally put in my two cents about Ricky Williams' sudden retirement (and penchant for pot). Ricky Williams has an interesting story. He is one of the top NFL running backs, and yet he retired at the age 27 in the prime of his career, with millions of dollars left on his contract. I wanted to write something about Ricky, but I just didn't have an angle. You certainly did though.

Yesterday I came across your Daily News column from August 9th. And you broke down why Ricky Williams retired- He wanted to spend more time with his bong. While Ricky stated that he no longer desired to play football, that he wanted to travel and take pictures, you saw right through that smoke screen. You wrote-

Anyway, Ricky Williams and millions of other young Americans love their pot and are willing to make great sacrifices to consume it.

I must have missed that memo. I didn’t realize Ricky retired from football to smoke weed.

Bill, I know where your concern lies. I’ve watched your show and you lament the decline of family values. You often ask what kind of example are these celebrities, these role models setting for our children? Ok I'm going to go with your theory for a moment, let’s say weed was the reason Ricky retired. Let’s examine the side effects of the drug-

Marijuana caused Ricky to want to travel the world (gasp!), spend more time taking photographs (double gasp!!), spend time with his kids (dear god!!!), and here is the worst part take guitar lessons (what kind of long-haired, flower child, Hippy nonsense is that)!!! Weed-induced traveling and photography? What will Dick and Jane think?

And Bill I have to hand it to you, you even found the cause of Ricky’s demise, he is a victim of rap music’s subliminal pedaling of pot. You write about the rise in marijuana use within the black community-

But during the '90s, pot consumption by African-American men and women between the ages of 18 and 29 increased 224%!

You even include an exclamation mark(!)!!!

The 10 years from 1992 to 2002 coincided with the rise of the rap industry. Icons such as Snoop Dogg and Ludacris glorified marijuana, and I believe their message fell on willing ears.

(Bill, won’t you leave Ludacris alone. Isn’t it enough that you ruined his endorsement deal with Pepsi?) But fine, let’s say Snoop, Redman & Method Man’s How High, the Up in Smoke Tour, Afroman’s Cause I got High, all do normalize marijuana and encourage our youth black and white, (I don’t know if you’ve heard Bill but a lot of white kids are listening to rap music too) to use the drug. You are still overstating the dangers (health and social) of marijuana, and you don’t seem to know much about Ricky Williams as a person either.

1. Marijuana isn’t the real danger in professional sports or otherwise. College standout and Celtics 1st round pick Len Bias died of a cocaine overdose. Mark McGwire, Ken Caminiti, and Jason Giambi have ruined their health using steroids to compete at the highest of levels. And yet you chastise Ludacris for encouraging marijuana use. Marijuana didn’t cause the rise of gang and gun violence in the inner cities, crack cocaine did. These are drugs that can harm athletes, kill people.

2. Your connection between the likes of Ludacris and Ricky Willaims is tenuous at best (it seems to me the only thing they have in common is that they are both black). Bill, I know you like to break everything down real simply, get at the crux of the matter. So here it is, Ricky Williams doesn’t have those kind of dreads. His braids aren’t the tightly-pulled corn rows of Luda or Snoop, rather they are some old-fashioned beeswax dreadlocks, in the tradition of Bob Marley or Ben Harper (who really does know how to Burn One Down). Bill listen up, Ricky is soft spoken, Ricky doesn’t go clubbing with Lil’ John. He takes guitar lessons. I know, these pot smokers are a nuanced bunch, it's hard to keep up with them.


(notice the tight intricate weave of Ludacris’ hair)


(which contrasts with the free, libertine fall-as-it-may coiffure of Ben Harper, Bob Marley and Ricky Williams)

So what else is wrong with Ricky? What makes him such a lightening rod for media attention and your scorn? What makes his story un-American? You write-

Think about all the good Williams could have done with the money he was earning. Life in the National Football League is no easy venture, but athletic ability is a gift that should not be discarded lightly.

Ahh, now I get it. Ricky is lazy. He isn’t making the most out of his God given talent, and that certainly doesn’t mesh with the American work ethic (maybe that’s why he is traveling abroad).

I don't know if you heard, but Ricky Williams never wanted to be a professional athlete. He hated the lime light. He wore a helmet fitted with a tinted visor so he wouldn’t have to look people in the eyes, so people couldn't see his eyes. He would leave that same helmet on during post-game interviews. The man had social anxiety disorder.

But again I know we have to think of the children. What will they think when a 27 year-old athlete quits on his team. Leaves the Dolphins hanging just before training camp starts, and deprives Miami of a 3rd consecutive 1,500 yard rushing season. Well NFL teams very often quit on players. Quincy Carter got cut by the Cowboys for allegedly failing a drug test. Ricky Williams also allegedly failed a 3rd drug test just before he retired, but the Dolphins wouldn't have cut him. Ricky was one of the best players at his position, Quincy wasn't. Goodbye. As long as the player performs well and puts fans in the seats team owners could care less what their players snort, smoke, or inject. Think Barry Bonds.

So Bill what is it exactly that makes you so angry, so disappointed in Ricky? I undertsand Ludacris has hoes in different area codes, and that Snoop Dogg has played a large role in the demise of the King's English (fer shizzle my nizzle), but Ricky is a pretty harmless guy. I think I've figured you out though. You have a problem with someone who has made $15 million by the age of 27, hasn't blown it all on 4 Bentleys, and now is financially secure enough to spend his time how he wants to spend it. The horror. So what kind of example is Ricky setting for our children? Don't work in a job you hate, follow your passions.

Bill please stick to the politics and Pepsi advertisements. Leave the football to more qualified politcal pundits like Rush Limbaugh.

Sincerely,

Gotim