A Letter to a Role Model
Dear Mr. Ricky Williams:
My son and I had a great talk earlier and I would like to share it with you. Now, I’m sure you are just sitting there wondering who on earth this young man is and why it should even matter to you so let me explain it in detail.
This young man has been a major Dolphins’ fan since he was around four or five years of age. Dan Marino is his all-time favorite sports "hero". I use the word hero loosely because I actually prefer the word role model. To me, a hero is a fireman who runs into a burning building to save a child; a police officer who negotiates the safe release of a hostage. Not just on those days, Mr. Williams, but every day when they put on the uniform and have routine smaller fires and traffic stops… these men and women are taking a chance. And yes, I believe every member of the Armed Forces who accepts the fact that war is very real in today’s society is a hero. Not to forget the medical profession, teachers, parents and every day people.
I do not believe a man who fails not one, not two, but FOUR urine tests is a hero, or in fact, a good role model. My son couldn’t believe you messed up your life like this.
I’m going to share something today that might get me in hot water with my son but it’s to let you know that in a way, he has been in your position. He failed a test like that nearly four years ago, Mr. Williams. He made it through basic, made it through AIT and one night while home on leave he did something he knew he shouldn’t do. And he paid for it. As the possibility of being kicked out of the military loomed in front of him, he requested a meeting with his commanding officer. He told the man he was in the wrong and took full responsibility. He looked his CO in the eye and told him if he was given another chance he would personally make him proud. The first sergeant told my son that he had never extended that chance to a soldier during the time he served with him. Until that day.
Now I don’t know if that’s true or not; maybe it was a psychological tool that was used successfully with other soldiers. I do know that it worked with my son. He wasn’t being threatened with jail time or with the loss of multi-millions of dollars; he understood quite clearly that he was seriously in danger of losing a chance due to his own poor choices.
Mr. Williams, my son never failed another test. His friends told me over the years he wouldn’t even allow pot anywhere around him. He’s not a do-gooder; he’s just a young man who realized a second chance for what it was… a SECOND chance. It may sound strange but I think what happened to him nearly four years ago was one of the best things that ever did. What would you think if I told you that he was one of two soldiers who went in during a convoy and saved his wounded commanding officer nearly a year later during an ambush in Iraq? We still hear from this man periodically; there is a bond between my son and this man that only another war veteran or someone who’s been saved by someone else could understand.
I’ve never shared this with anyone outside of family and close friends before. Not because I was ashamed but because when someone learns a lesson, they shouldn’t have it thrown up to them time and again. And Mr. Williams, do not doubt that I am quite proud of that young man. He took his second chance and honored it. You didn’t… not your second, your third and it looks like you don’t get a fifth chance.
So as my son voiced his frustrations with you and his frustrations with the Dolphins not winning a Super Bowl in so long and how getting high seems more important to you than rushing yards and how you have all this money and you’re just being stupid, he spoke with experience, not judgment. I told him this:
Maybe this is HOW the Dolphins are turning it around… getting rid of the ones who don’t care about second chances. Maybe it’s time to clean out the pool and bring in some other guys who love the Dolphins and want to fulfill dreams they’ve had since they were little boys. Maybe THEN the Dolphins will return to the Super Bowl.
So Mr. Williams, if you do lose your multi-million dollar contract and your groupies and your fans, it’s your own fault. Because my son showed me over the last four years that he knows how to take responsibility for his actions and suffer the consequences and when someone is given a second chance, don’t blow it.
He thought you were awesome. He thought you were a great football player. He thought you had it all playing for who he believes is the greatest team in the NFL. Today he sees someone who blew it and he’s upset. Today, I see a young man who the world may never know unless he becomes a big film director. But to his family and friends, HE is awesome. His siblings think he’s the greatest. His country and ex-commanding officer think he’s a hero. And his mom is HIS biggest fan.
Second chances don’t come along every day, Mr. Williams. You’ve had even more. Clean up your act and show young boys that football and sports is where the gold is.