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Ricky Williams won a Heisman trophy in college and rushed for over 10,000 yards in his NFL career. However, despite all his success on the field, Williams is as synonymous with what often kept him off the field. Williams was repeatedly suspended for marijuana use during his NFL career, and since retiring after the 2011 season, he has been unabashed and forthright in his discussion of marijuana use and marijuana advocacy. Williams briefly held the record for most career rushing yards for a Division 1-A player, but he thinks he may hold another record; most times being drug tested.
There is a new Sports Illustrated documentary called Ricky Williams Takes the High Road, wherein Williams talks about all the drug testing he was subjected to while playing in the NFL. The exact number is unknown, but Williams was suspended all of 2006 for marijuana use, and then in 2007, as he applied for reinstatement, he was subjected to multiple drug tests per week. He believes that he may have been drug tested more than 500 times during his career, which he says he thinks might be “the record.”
It’s entirely possible Williams is exaggerating for dramatic effect, but he was almost certainly tested a tremendous amount of times during his career. Since the heyday of Williams’ career, and his suspensions, the conversation about marijuana use has changed, and Williams has been part of that.
(Via Sports Illustrated)
