Ricky Williams made an appearance this week on the Bill Simmons hosted show “Any Given Wednesday” on HBO. Along with Williams was Seth Rogen, so naturally the conversation eventually shifted towards weed. Simmons usually does a “speed round” segment with his guest where he fires off questions to get quick responses but in this case they did a “weed round” where some interesting topics were covered, such as the coolest person they ever smoked weed with. Among the topics on the show was also Williams’ issues with the NFL over his smoking and how he believes he is a hall of fame running back but will never be voted in due to his marijuana use.
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Williams had his ups (leading the NFL in rushing in 2002) and downs (missing two seasons amid multiple drug suspensions) during his 11-year career. But despite his issues with marijuana, Williams still ran for 10,009 yards and 66 touchdowns, putting together more than a respectable career. Those stats are better than some other backs who made the hall of fame but Williams doesn’t expect to ever be there.
When asked by Simmons if he would be in the Hall of Fame if marijuana was legal, Williams said, “For sure. No doubt about it. I look at the amount of stress and things that distracted me from playing football surrounding cannabis,” Williams said. “Also the negative media coverage I got really tarnished my image.”
Williams is likely correct because even though he finished his career with more than 10,000 yards rushing, that number would have been much higher if not for his suspension related to the drug. At this point he is pretty clear he will never get the respect his career deserves but at least he seems to handle it with humor. This conversation with Rogen was pretty hilarious.