Friday, December 3
Hole in his soul
Former Texas great Ricky Williams will not be returning to professional football this year. Refusing any kind of reinstatement deal, Williams has enrolled as a student studying the ancient Indian medical system known as Ayurveda.
I’m a little bit torn on how I feel about this. On the one hand, who am I to tell someone that they shouldn’t be pursuing whatever it is that makes them happy? If Ricky wants to smoke weed and find himself spiritually, he should be able to.
But I can’t help but feel like Williams is just shirking responsibility. Is Ricky really on a spiritual mission or was the pressure of his professional career just more than he could handle? Life as a professional athlete, though richly rewarding in many ways, is still a very demanding profession—physically and psychologically. But there are constructive ways to handle professional stress. Running away to the mountains and hiding behind drugs doesn’t strike me as a way to resolve your problems.
Maybe Ricky really did need this sabbatical and he’ll emerge a stronger and wiser man for it. But I think that until he realizes he’s not facing his problems, that’s not likely to happen soon.
--PB--
I’m a little bit torn on how I feel about this. On the one hand, who am I to tell someone that they shouldn’t be pursuing whatever it is that makes them happy? If Ricky wants to smoke weed and find himself spiritually, he should be able to.
But I can’t help but feel like Williams is just shirking responsibility. Is Ricky really on a spiritual mission or was the pressure of his professional career just more than he could handle? Life as a professional athlete, though richly rewarding in many ways, is still a very demanding profession—physically and psychologically. But there are constructive ways to handle professional stress. Running away to the mountains and hiding behind drugs doesn’t strike me as a way to resolve your problems.
Maybe Ricky really did need this sabbatical and he’ll emerge a stronger and wiser man for it. But I think that until he realizes he’s not facing his problems, that’s not likely to happen soon.
--PB--
