After a one year absence from the NFL, superstar running back Ricky Williams made his return to the league on Sunday to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Williams, who stunned the football world by announcing his retirement after only five seasons, left his team and a promising career in order to escape the drug policies and regulations held by the league.
The two-time pro bowl running back stated that he uses marijuana as a substitute for other prescription drugs to alleviate his social anxiety disorder, and was actually able to hide his usage from the NFL for two seasons by using a masking agent.
D.O. Cox, a junior business major believes that the NFL is making a mistake by allowing Williams to return to the league.
"I don't think Williams should be able to play," said Cox. "Many people aspire to be in the position he was in, and for him to potentially throw away his career over marijuana shows a complete lack of discipline and respect for the sport."
Although many share Cox's opinion on the running back being so easily accepted back into the sport he abandoned without warning, Garrett Sims, a senior broadcast journalism major has different sentiments about Williams and his return, saying that he should be able to come back if he desires to play again.
"Everyone deserves a second chance," said Sims. "No matter what, he's still human and everyone makes mistakes. So what if he lost his desire to play football? That doesn't mean people should cast him as an outsider."
"If he wants to come back and play football he should be allowed to do so. I understand the team mentality, but he did what he felt was best for him and made him happy at the time," he added.
On Sunday, he started alongside rookie running back Ronnie Brown. It was not a dramatic return as Williams gained only 8 yards on five rushing attempts in a losing effort.
The Dolphins gained only 64 rushing yards as they fell to the Buccaneers by a score of 27-13, bringing their record down to 2-3.
The Buccaneers, behind running back Michael Pittman, had a steady performance on the ground with 180 yards and improved to 5-1 on the season.
Although this was not William's best performance by any measure, head coach Nick Saban and the rest of the Miami Dolphins coaching staff appeared satisfied with Williams on his first game in 22 months.
"He looked quick. He looked fast. He made the right cuts," Saban said in a quote from ESPN.com.
"I'm not disappointed at all in the way he played for the first time out of the box."
Ricky Williams has more than half of the season left to improve and get re-accustomed to NFL play.
As the player who ran for 3,225 yards and 25 touchdowns in his two previous seasons with the Dolphins, most don't expect it to take very long.
The next game for Williams and the Dolphins will be at home against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Oct.23.
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Saturday, October 22nd 2005 at 12:08AM
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