Ricky Williams
Ricky Williams
Errick Lynne "Ricky" Williams Jr.is a retired American football running back who played twelve seasons in the National Football Leagueand one season in the Canadian Football League. He played college football for the University of Texas, where he was a two-time All-American and won the Heisman Trophy. Williams was drafted by the New Orleans Saints fifth overall in the 1999 NFL Draft and spent three seasons with the team before he was traded to the Miami Dolphins in 2002. He...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionFootball Player
Date of Birth21 May 1977
CitySan Diego, CA
CountryUnited States of America
You have to realize I've been away from the game for a long time,
The problem wasn't with the city, the sport, my teammates or my coach, even though I blamed all of them at one time or another. The problem was with me. But I didn't realize it back then because I hadn't been told that there was a clinical reason -- social anxiety disorder -- for everything odd I was feeling, everything from the depression to the shyness. I didn't understand that some of the things that were holding me back were chemical.
Playing in the National Football League, you're told, you know, where to be, when to be there, what to wear, how to be there. Being able to step away from that, I have an opportunity to look deeper into myself and look for what's real.
I've gotten to a point, where I realize that happiness doesn't come from the outside.
I think sometimes when it comes to sports, and especially relationships between players and coaches, that people lose track, lose a sense of reality.
When you make that crossover from life to real life, when you're not treated as a child anymore but as a man, and you are no longer given the benefit of the doubt, it takes some courage to face that.
The more I pay attention to what's going on inside, the more I realize that how I feel, and how I react to what I feel, really creates my reality. And the more in touch I can be, the better chance I have to control what's happening in my life.
What's fun is how laid-back everything is. It's always great to get in the end zone, but it's especially great to do it against the best players in the world with millions of people watching.
I've still got 4,000 yards left in me, ... Who is gonna turn that down?
The way I live my life, if I have a place to stay and I have food on the table, then I'm not broke.
realizes that happiness doesn't come from the outside.
Every step you make there's just more and more distractions. There's just more things that can go wrong and do go wrong. It's just mental toughness.
As the game goes on, I usually get stronger and more comfortable and have a better feel for what to do. Life is about opportunities. Unfortunately Ronnie was down, so this week I made the most of the opportunity.
Victories have been hard to come by this year. I think when we can, late in the game, stick together and pull one out it's going to help our confidence.