Theismann Blasts Ricky

It appears Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams will soon have something in common with former Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann. Both will have played in the Canadian Football League for the Toronto Argonauts as well as the National Football League. But that doesn't mean Theismann is honored by the distinction.

During a segment on ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd show, Theismann said, "I don't ever want to be mentioned in the same breath as Ricky Williams as a football player. He's a disgrace to the game. The man doesn't deserve to play football. He should go on with his life and treat his drug addictions or go do whatever he wants to do. He's been suspended from the NFL on multiple occasions. Doesn't anybody have any class anywhere? For gosh sakes, let the kid go do what he wants to do. He doesn't want to play football."

"Listen, we have rules in the National Football League," Thiesmann said. "It's real simple. Don't do drugs and you can play. It's a privilege to be able to play professional football. It's not a rite of passage. He's insulted the Miami Dolphins after they took him back and gave him a chance to play. Now he insults the intelligence of everybody that thinks that doing drugs is OK. To me, it's the wrong message to send to kids. It's the wrong thing to be doing, and the Toronto Argonauts have embarrassed themselves as an organization signing him."

Now I don't say this often, but Theismann has a good point.

How is the league's substance abuse policy a deterrent to other offenders when guys like Ricky Williams are given chance after chance? I like Williams, and I think he is somewhat misunderstood because he doesn't fit the stereotype of a professional athlete. But this is his fourth violation. Yet he could be back in the league as early as the start of the 2007 season.

If the NFL allows Williams to return next year, they're sending a signal to violators of the substance abuse policy that they will be given enough chances to make it through the prime years of their careers (with an unpaid vacation here and there, of course). And if a player knows he'll be welcomed back time after time following violation after violation, he's less likely to break the habit. I'm all for second and third chances, but as Theismann says, playing in the NFL is a privilege. At some point the chances have to end or the league's policy is a sham.