“I say this jokingly but part of me kind of believes it,” NFL legend Ricky Williams said during our recent exclusive interview.
“I think part of the reason I won the Heisman trophy was to be able to do this (promote the benefits of cannabis). The Heisman trophy in and of itself is wonderful, we celebrated my 25th anniversary (of winning it) this past December.”
View this post on Instagram
“It’s cool to be celebrated but the Heisman is a young person’s trophy, literally. I think taking that platform that the Heisman trophy gave me and doing something more with it, that’s relevant to what I’m doing as a 47 year old, is very meaningful.
“And it’s making a difference.”
Williams won the 1998 Heisman with the Texas Longhorns, who retired his #34.
His commentary about utilizing a large public platform, acquired through athletic achievement, to promote social issues is more relevant now than ever.
I caught up to him at an event promoting Highsman, the purpose-driven cannabis lifestyle brand he founded and leads.
Williams, a former NFL Pro Bowler and member of the exclusive 10,000 career rushing yards club, came to Enlightened Dispensary in Schaumburg, IL this past Saturday.
Highsman was celebrating a new manufacturing and retail partnership with Revolution Cannabis, the Illinois owned and operated cannabis cultivator and retail operator.
So what would be the very first thing you would ask Ricky Williams, if you had an exclusive with him?
Naturally, my query was about how far cannabis acceptance has come since the early 2000s, when Williams almost lost his football career due to his usage of it.
Has it truly arrived now?
“I don’t think we’re ever going to be there, because we’re going to keep learning about it, that’s what I’m looking forward to,” the subject of the ESPN 30 for 30 “Run Ricky Run” responded.
But compared to where we were 20 years ago, I never could have imagined that I would be standing in a dispensary, signing football pictures, it’s kind of mind-blowing.
“I like to take pride in the fact that me taking a stand helped this moment come.”
Ricky Williams is right, and he was about 20 years ahead of his time in taking that stance.
He then made an interesting historical analogy, one that puts this all into perspective for us.
“In football, with each generation goes by and people forget your name, but with something like this, people are still talking about the prohibition of alcohol when they talk about the end of prohibition of cannabis, and hopefully I’ll be a little footnote, and that lasts a little longer than the football stuff.”
Again, no lies detected. Spot on! Williams became a yoga instructor (working pro bono actually!) during the year after he retired from the NFL (the first time), and he lived at a yoga retreat.
“I went to play football in Canada, and down the street from where I lived was a yoga studio run by the same people who trained me, so for me it was like wow, I never thought that would be able to happen in my life. It is just hitting me now that you asked me that question- I was a professional football player and a yoga teacher, at the same time,” Williams added.
“I had a rough childhood and I played a rough sport, so mental health and physical health have become my obsession, and it’s necesary for my quality of life. It adds up, both meditation and yoga, that feeling you have afterwards, even if it only lasts an hour, where everything is good, you build on that.”
Williams then spoke of dualism, in a way that would make Descartes proud, as he espoused the twin priorities of mental and physical health, and how these two principles work alongside each other.
Ricky Williams has previously told media publications that his calling in life is to be teacher.
“I use the word teacher, but a teacher’s job is to open minds,” he continued.
“Cannabis has really opened my mind and it allowed me to learn more about myself, so I really think the greatest information we have is the information about ourselves.”
Highsman’s signature Pregame, Halftime and Postgame collections available exclusively at Revolution-owned dispensaries across Illinois. Williams curated the three exclusive strains, which are all new to the state of Illinois.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.