Few athletes in history have taken to a cause quite like Ricky Williams and cannabis advocacy.
By Michael Shapiro, Sports Reporter – July 5, 2024
Ricky Williams isn’t one to live with regret.Â
The former Texas Longhorns and 11-year NFL running back paired his prodigious production with a share of controversy in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with a 2004 retirement and 2006 suspension both stemming from use his of cannabis. The practice is a common one for athletes across an array of sports two decades later, and last month, the NCAA Division I council took the surprising step of removing cannabis from its banned substance list.
Given the new acceptance of cannabis in American culture, you’d assume Williams wishes he played in a different era. That’s not quite the case.
The former Texas Longhorns and 11-year NFL running back paired his prodigious production with a share of controversy in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with a 2004 retirement and 2006 suspension both stemming from use his of cannabis. The practice is a common one for athletes across an array of sports two decades later, and last month, the NCAA Division I council took the surprising step of removing cannabis from its banned substance list.
Given the new acceptance of cannabis in American culture, you’d assume Williams wishes he played in a different era. That’s not quite the case.
Williams told Chron this week he views his retirement and suspension as “part of my story,” adding they spurred his passion for post-career cannabis advocacy. Williams is one of football’s more introspective stars of the last half-century, a hard-nosed runner who took a candid look at his life both during his time in the NFL and in his post-playing career. Was Williams unjustly punished by a league and society behind the times? Perhaps. But there doesn’t seem to be any bitterness from the former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL All-Pro.
Part 2 of Chron’s conversation with Williams will run next week. For now, enjoy Williams’ ruminations on the NCAA, cannabis, the end of his playing career, and the joy of what followed.
Questions and answers from Chron’s conversation with Williams were lightly edited for context and clarity:
Michael Shapiro: Why do you think now was the time for the NCAA to take cannabis off the banned substance list
Ricky Williams: With NIL and all the other things that have changed so much in the NCAA, this doesn’t feel like that big of a deal. But it’s evidence that times are changing. And when you see big institutions like the NCAA make these changes, it helps to normalize it, it helps to normalize cannabis. And that’s a good thing.
How were cannabis users viewed during your time as a collegiate player?
I wasn’t a cannabis user in college so I couldn’t speak to that personally, but I could see the way my teammates were treated. That was 25 years ago. It’s not that different from the stigma that was present everywhere else in the culture. Basically everyone who did it didn’t talk about doing it. They lied about their cannabis use. That’s really changed now.
How did your relationship with cannabis evolve once you began your NFL career?
For most of my career I wasn’t consuming cannabis. I was being drug tested almost every other day. I couldn’t really have any kind of relationship with cannabis. I’m older, you know? It wasn’t a thing at the start of my career. That started to change near the end of my career. Guys would start bringing in brownies to watch film, and in general things just became more accepted and understood.Â
What would you assess as the benefits of cannabis for athletes?
There’s a whole bunch of benefits. The nature of sports is stress inducing. So stress relief, relaxation, recovery, those are the most obvious. And most football players, they really have trouble sleeping. And edibles have been huge for these players. If they take the right dosage, they can sleep and then wake up and not be groggy the next day.
Do you think your career was shortened or harmed by the NFL and NCAA’s cannabis rules?
I don’t think so. I think if I didn’t have getting in trouble [for cannabis] as part of my story, that would have ruined my career. Football, at most, you’re only going to play until your mid-30s, especially as a running back. And to me, the purpose of a career is to set us up for what comes after the career. And I just think if I stopped at only being a football player, I’d be in a lot of trouble.
But getting in trouble for cannabis allowed me to take a year off, to travel, to get to know myself, to find other things I was interested in, to find something I was passionate enough to advocate about. So, I think it was really good for my career.
Why is cannabis something you wanted to become an advocate for?Â
I think most adults have this experience of something where our parents or teachers or someone told us something was bad for us, and later in life we have this experience, and we realize we were lied to. I’ve talked to so many people in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s that are still living under the lies that were told to them by their parents.
So, it’s cannabis, but it’s something bigger than that, you know? For me, it’s about trying to set an example by finding something that has affected me personally, something that I care about and can advocate for.
What are some of the biggest things in your post-playing career you’ve learned about yourself?
I think everyone learns through experiences and through life, but with me particularly, when you decide from a young age what you’re going to be when you grow up, there’s a word for that: identity foreclosure, and it tends to retard development. And I’ve learned I’m more thoughtful, more insightful and more sensitive than I was allowed to be as just a professional football player.
So basically I learned there’s more to be than being a football player, and those parts of me I’ve learned about are now useful to me now that my career is over. And so, if I hadn’t had these experiences like I said earlier, I’d be in trouble. I wouldn’t know who I was. I’d be lost. My body would probably be in a lot more pain.
I think it’s something we all learn in time. Life is long, take your shot. Especially if you’re young, you have time to recover.
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