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Williams feared public reaction to marijuana use
Former Dolphins back to be on "60 Minutes"

Charlotte Observer

Charlotte, NC Dec 16, 2004 -- Former Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams told CBS' "60 Minutes" that he retired from the NFL out of fear of public reaction to his third failed test for marijuana.

Williams, who led the NFL in rushing in 2002, gave up $5 million in base salary when he quit a week before training camp in July. Under NFL rules, he would have been suspended for four games for repeat violations of the league's substance-abuse policy.

"That's the one thing I couldn't deal with at the time -- people knowing that I smoke marijuana," Williams said, according to a partial transcript of his interview with Mike Wallace that CBS issued. "That was my biggest fear in my whole entire life."

The interview is to be telecast Sunday.

Williams, 27, stunned his team by the timing of his retirement. The Dolphins are 2-11 without him.

"That's their problem ... It's not my problem anymore," Williams said of Miami's season in the interview. "I played as hard as I could whenever I put that uniform on, but I'm not doing that anymore, you know?"

Two weeks ago, Williams, 27, rejected a proposal which would have allowed him to return next season by serving the four-game suspension this year and entering the league's substance-abuse program.