Up in smoke

South Florida CEO, August, 2004 by Barbara Perkins

What's Ricky William smoking? The former Dolphins running back told The Miami Herald there were "a hundred reasons" for his sudden retirement and that smoking marijuana without the fear of league reprisals was just one of them. Had he tested positive for illicit drug use under the National Football League's mandatory drug testing program, Williams would have faced fines of $231,250 a game for a minimum of four games, Dolphins officials confirmed. Williams told the newspaper, "I didn't quit football because I failed a drug test, I failed a drug test because I was ready to quit football." A team spokesman says the Dolphins will carry on without the star running back. Harvey Greene, Dolphins vice president of media relations, says the loss of Williams has had little impact on season ticket sales. "Less than 10 season ticket holders have called about this. And we treat this like an injury anyway--if a player gets hurt you don't get a refund." Teams lose quality players all the time, Greene adds, "plus we still have Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas." Even so, Greene admits, the team will have to move fast to change its marketing strategy: Williams's image is on billboard, television and radio ads all over South Florida.

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