With the new ESPN 30 by 30 series movie Run Ricky Run ready to premier on April 27th, I thought there was no better time to take a moment and talk about how even at 32 years old, and despite all the incidents surrounding his life; Ricky Williams is still someone we should be proud to call a Dolphin.

In looking at Ricky Williams this past season, it’s hard to believe that only a few short seasons ago he was a guy who was thought of around the league and by fans as a disappointment. In August 2004, Williams announced he was retiring, and with that decision came a wave of anger and resentment that would’ve broken the strongest person down. Many people believed he chose weed over football, considering that his decision to retire came after testing positive for the substance three times during the previous season. But Ricky said he needed the time for himself to discover who he was and he felt the restrictions of the NFL wouldn’t allow him to do that.

Ricky decided to come back to the NFL in 2005, and that season he was able to run for 743 yards while sharing time with Ronnie Brown, a rookie who was drafted second in the 2005 draft. But his return wouldn’t be seamless, on February 20th, 2006, and after playing for just one seasno, it was announced that Williams would be suspended for the whole 2006 season after failing the NFL drug policy for the fourth time, this time presumably the substance was something other than marijuana. Ricky tried to appeal the test result but his appeal was denied and he was suspended for another season, this time the news was written off by many people as “what else could you expect?” even though it had been reported that Williams had been nothing but a model player since his return.

With the suspension in place, Ricky decided to play in the CFL which up to that point had no rules indicating a player suspended in another league wouldn’t be able to play (this changed in 2007 when a new rule was introduced which was informally referred to as “The Ricky William Rule”). The Dolphins allowed Ricky to play for the Toronto Argonauts with the condition that he would return to play for the Dolphins in 2007.

Williams was finally reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on November 26, 2007, and on that Monday Night game against the Steelers, he suffered a pectoral injury which would again sideline him for the season. At that point it really seemed as though Williams would never get to catch a break, he was 30 years old and people thought nothing more could be expected of him. He did however come back in 2008 to play in all 16 games, and served as the perfect complement to Brown when running the wildcat.

It was in 2009 though when Ricky would get a chance to shine again. On week 9, in a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Ronnie Brown suffered a foot injury which took him out for the rest of the season. This untimely injury had everyone worried about the continued effectiveness of our running game but it set up the opportunity for Ricky to step up to the plate and support our running game. And that is precisely what he did. It was a pleasure to see Ricky run those plays, he finished the season with 11 touchdowns and 1121 yards, breaking a record for the longest span between 1000 yards seasons (six years). But more satisfying than that was to be able to listen to the fans root for him on the stands and actually scream “Run Ricky Run” every time he carried the ball.

Ricky Williams has definitely had rollercoaster ride in the NFL, and so have the fans who have followed him but he has found a way to not only come back and make an impact in the sport and on the team, but most importantly he has found a way back into the fans hearts. And if the last season is any indication of what he has left to offer, I’m sure we will be treated to even more Ricky in 2010, so that he can retire on the positive note that he deserves.