"I loved playing football, but the reasons I loved football were just to feed my ego," Williams said. "And any time you feed your ego, it's a one-way street."

What an intelligent thing to say. Unfortunately, it's completly lost on the sports world. That quote gets drowned out by the macho "he let us down", "he's a pot head who is a quitter", "what a flake", etc etc.

This guy is better than you (sports fans). He's above you, and football is beneath him. You need sports to fill a void in your life, but he doesn't.

If i quit my job to do something else, am i "letting everyone down"? Should i choose to come back, i don't see why i would need to "apologize to everyone". Uh, it's my life, i'll come and go as i please. and don't give me a "he left right before training camp". He was talking about leaving for a LONG time and people, selfish people who want to exploit his life for their own perosnal gain, kept trying to convince him to stay.

I wish there was a way to root for Ricky Williams on something other than the football field. I respect him as a human being.