Re: RICKY SUSPENDED FOR A YEAR!! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Williams suspended one yearESPN.com news servicesDolphins halfback Ricky Williams lost his appeal with the NFL for violating the substance abuse policy and will be ineligible for the 2006 season.The appeal was of his fourth violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy, a ruling that places his football career in jeopardy.Two sources said Williams was told of the ruling earlier Tuesday. This will mark the second time in three years that Williams will sit out a full season. Williams missed the 2004 campaign when he abruptly retired days before the start of training camp that summer, following his third violation of the substance abuse policy."I'm disappointed with the decision but I respect it," Williams said in a statement issued through the Dolphins. "I'm proud of my association with the National Football League and look forward to returning to the Dolphins in 2007."Williams can apply for reinstatement to the league after one year. He will not be allowed to train at the Dolphins' facility for the next year.But even if he were to be reinstated in 2007, Williams would return as a 30-year-old running back who had appeared in just 12 games in three years. Life is difficult enough for a running back in the NFL once he turns 30. It would be especially difficult for Williams, given the rust he would have accumulated. And there are no guarantees that he will want to resume his career when eligible for reinstatement.The four-time 1,000-yard rusher returned to the Dolphins in 2005, served a four-game suspension for his past drug-related offenses and forfeited an additional four game checks as part of the sanctions against him. He then ran for 743 yards and six touchdowns while serving as the backup to rookie tailback Ronnie Brown, the team's first-round pick. Williams played in 12 games, starting three.League officials have yet to comment on the resolution to Williams' appeal, which was heard April 10 in a session presided over by league counsel Jeffrey Pash. There had been no indication of when a resolution might come on Williams' appeal, but in the hearing, the Dolphins requested an expedited decision. That was because Miami wanted to go into the draft the weekend with a clear picture of their tailback situation.Decisions on such appeals can often take months, but the league clearly viewed the Williams situation and the proximity to the draft as a mitigating circumstance and made a quicker determination.According to various reports, Williams tested positive, likely in December toward the end of the 2005 season, for a substance banned by the league. In at least three other violations, Williams tested positive for marijuana. Several sources have claimed that the substance in the latest positive test was not marijuana.News that Williams had failed another drug test surfaced in February, while he was in India studying yoga and holistic medicine.In the lengthy appeals hearing, it is believed that attorney David Cornwell, who represented Williams, claimed that the positive test was inconsistent with his client's behavior over the past year. A former league counsel, Cornwell helped craft the NFL's substance abuse guidelines, is eminently familiar with the policy and has represented many players in the past in the appeals process.One of the witnesses who testified in support of Williams in the appeal was Dolphins coach Nick Saban, who has repeatedly praised Williams' conduct and performance last season.For his career, Williams, the first-round draft choice of the New Orleans Saints who was traded to Miami in 2002, has rushed for 7,097 yards and 47 touchdowns on 1,757 carries. The former University of Texas star has appeared in 82 games and started 73 times.The suspension represents a financial blow for Williams, who owes the Dolphins $8.6 million for breaching his contract when he retired in 2004. His return to the NFL was motivated partly by the need for a paycheck.The Dolphins recently re-signed backup tailbacks Sammy Morris and Travis Minor, but neither figures to provide them the kind of productivity that Williams did in 2005.Information from ESPN.com senior writers Len Pasquarelli and John Clayton and The Associated Press was used in this report.</div> http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2421774
Re: RICKY SUSPENDED FOR A YEAR!! He used to be one of my favorite players, but I lost alot of respect for him. I thought he changed. I guess he didn't.
Re: RICKY SUSPENDED FOR A YEAR!! Ricky is one of the guys that is gonna get what he deserves one day, I hope he dies a poor man. He really wasted all that talent...
Re: RICKY SUSPENDED FOR A YEAR!! Thank god for Ronnie Brown or else they would be screwed. Well I am dissapointed in Ricky he had such a promising career and then he shot it to hell with the drugs.
Re: RICKY SUSPENDED FOR A YEAR!! Same thing happened to my best friend, drugs took control of him... and at that point thats just when it becomes sad.
Re: RICKY SUSPENDED FOR A YEAR!! Ronnie definitely isn't as good as Ricky was a couple years back but you guys are REALLY lucky to have him in this situation.
Re: RICKY SUSPENDED FOR A YEAR!! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Uptown @ Apr 26 2006, 02:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>He used to be one of my favorite players, but I lost alot of respect for him. I thought he changed. I guess he didn't.</div>I think the same.when i played NFL 2K3, nobody could stop him. and now ...
Re: RICKY SUSPENDED FOR A YEAR!! It wasnt weed. Sources confirmed that. The Dolphins are a better team with ricky in it. The 2 player running game was doing very well in Miami.Ricky will be back in 07.
Re: RICKY SUSPENDED FOR A YEAR!! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GotSkillz52 @ Apr 26 2006, 11:48 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>It wasnt weed. Sources confirmed that. The Dolphins are a better team with ricky in it. The 2 player running game was doing very well in Miami.Ricky will be back in 07.</div>Sources From Ricky Williams's people confirmed that. The NFL isnt allowed to give out any information that says otherwise.
Re: RICKY SUSPENDED FOR A YEAR!! I actually don't think this will affect them too much, Ronnie Brown is a lot better than Ricky. Ricky is another wasted talent...
Re: RICKY SUSPENDED FOR A YEAR!! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JHair @ Apr 25 2006, 05:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Ronnie definitely isn't as good as Ricky was a couple years back but you guys are REALLY lucky to have him in this situation.</div>ronnies in his second year..... and i dont care how godd ricky was back then it matters how good he is now. and if anyone has actually seen ronnie run. you know that were in good shape as far as our rb' situation is concerned.
Re: RICKY SUSPENDED FOR A YEAR!! yea i heard about this this morning. I think it is sad but he asked for it
Re: RICKY SUSPENDED FOR A YEAR!! This would be an excellent time for MIA to trade like crazy for early draft picks.
Re: RICKY SUSPENDED FOR A YEAR!! To paraphrase Colin Cowherd:<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Nick Saban is smart enough to not rely on Ricky Williams. Ricky is a flake. He's the guy that forgets to pick you up for the airport. Everybody has that flakey friend that you just know better than to rely on. But he IS your friend because he's fun to be with, and when he's around he's worth it. And Nick Saban is smart enough to not rely on Ricky Williams. He knows how to use him when he's around, but he doesn't depend on him. he depends on Ronnie Brown, and just uses Ricky when he can as an added bonus. And this is why I doubt that the Dolphins miss a beat next year without having Ricky in the backfield.</div>
Re: RICKY SUSPENDED FOR A YEAR!! I had a ton of respect for Ricky's talent when he was not getting failed drug tests. He had amazing talent and put it to waste. He turned into a solitary moron. He just lost all respect from millions of people and does not get as much demand as he used to. I mainly don't like the fact I have some memoribilia from him that is worth next to nothing, although I got very early on when he had a broken leg, so it wasn't much anyway. But the point is, he just isn't an NFL caliber player anymore.
