SAN DIEGO – May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and for Patrick Henry High School alum and Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams, it’s a time he reflects on his own personal growth.
The previous NFL running back has long struggled with social anxieties, carving his own path through cannabis to heal his body and mind. Williams is thought by many as considered one of the fiercest running backs from the NFL within the last century, but his fame didn’t come without controversy.
Some may remember Williams for his two NFL suspensions that stemmed from violating the league’s strict marijuana policy on the time.
“I take a look at the choice and yea, there’s an excellent probability if I wouldn’t have gone down this path I is likely to be within the Hall of Fame, but so what?” Williams said. “I also thought in my imagination that if I’d gone down that path, my physical and mental health wouldn’t be what it’s today. I wouldn’t have the energy to evangelise my latest message from the mountain tops.”
Williams says he thought he was going to be the “next Tony Gwynn.”
“I remember being 7 years old listening to the Padres on the radio. I used to be an enormous baseball fan,” he said.
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As an alternative of professionally pursuing America’s pastime, the 11-year NFL veteran finished his profession with greater than 10,000 rushing yards and 74 touchdowns.
When asked about his thoughts on the present policies across all major leagues, with reference to allowing cannabis for use, he responded by saying:
“You bought to take a look at the history, the war on drugs really intensified within the ’80s, and identical to in any war, there are casualties but that also requires a time for healing. So I feel within the leagues, the last 20 years they’ve been punishing people pretty harshly for using and now I feel it’s pretty difficult to only impulsively say they’re not going to try this anymore. They’ve softened their punishments and testing requirements so it’s moving in that direction.”
The 1998 Heisman trophy winner is now pursuing a latest enterprise in retirement: Highsman, a cannabis lifestyle brand that launched in October 2021.
“It’s about elevating the conversation, because my personal experience with cannabis was very different than what people told me,” Williams said. “My experience is one that really helped me and improved the standard of my life quite than spoil it like I used to be originally told.”
Williams adds that he visits San Diego often and has never been happier.
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