When former Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams walked away from the game of football in the prime of his career, you’d be hard pressed to find a single Miami Dolphins fan that didn’t resent the decision from Williams to leave the team. But in the years that have passed, including after Williams’ strong return with Miami and well into his retirement, there’s become a much deeper understanding of Williams as a person — the struggles with mental health he wrestled with during his playing career and the ways in which Williams attempted to cope with his social anxiety disorder.
And the end result for Williams is a happy one — he’s fully embraced who he is as a person and the world has seemingly embraced him back. Williams is involved in a slew of opportunities, including cannabis distribution; which the former Dolphins running back took the time to show off during a recent video interview with Sports Illustrated.
You can watch the full feature below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4NuO9Ydw5s
The most enjoyable piece of the interview? Hearing and seeing Williams comfortable in his own skin while in front of a camera. This is the same person who once resorted to conducting interviews with his helmet on in the locker room to help him handle the social anxiety disorder he wrestled with.
Now?
Williams grins when asked if he feels people owe him an apology.
“No, no, no. I don’t ever think anyone ever owes me an apology. If we are living a truly authentic life, you should have that effect on other people,” said Williams.
“Once people start — you see those things and it starts to get people to think outside the box and open their minds. And that process is first, you hit resistance. But then you break free.”
Williams is living free these days. And it’s hard to image a Dolphins fan still harboring any resistance to Williams’ then-controversial decision to take care of himself. His playing days are well behind Williams at this point, who has been out of the league for a decade now. But based on Williams’ new-found comfort in who he is, it certainly seems like all of his best days are still ahead of him.