Ex NFL running back Ricky Williams last played in 2011 after spending 11 seasons in the league.
Now, he is an outspoken advocate for the legalization of marijuana. That was already known.
What’s interesting about Williams’ latest comments is the fact that he admitted marijuana played a role in him quitting football.
“It’s kind of true, but not the way that people see it, that I quit football to go smoke weed,” Williams said, via Sports Illustrated.
We obviously know that the NFL and weed don’t mix. Williams was suspended the entire 2006 season for violating the substance abuse policy. In the current NFL, every single season sees players suspended for violating the same policy.
Per the report, Williams takes a look at his life since his career ended in 2011. He discusses his issues with the league’s drug testing policy as well as his feelings about how he was viewed in the public eye for his support of smoking marijuana.
Williams was a first-round pick of the New Orleans Saints in the 1999 NFL Draft. He achieved career-highs in his first year with the Miami Dolphins when he rushed for a total of 1,853 yards and scored 16 touchdowns.
Coincidentally, the last team Williams played for was the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens recently released Eugene Moore, an advocate for the NFL lifting its ban on marijuana as a medical alternative to painkillers.