leaving the stage

Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams has decided that, at 27, he's had enough of being a professional football player...he's had enough of sacrificing his personal life to the glaring spotlight that being a celebrity in America shines on you.  He's thrown up his hands and, leaving the $3.6 million (which could have ballooned to $6 million with incentive bonuses) he would have made this season on the table, he's flown off to spend a few months traveling the world in relative anonymity.

Good for him.

It's not good for the NFL.  It's not good for the Miami Dolphins (who will desperately need a running back to fill the enormous void in their roster Williams' retirement creates.)  But, if it's what he wants and needs to make himself content and happy, it certainly is good for Ricky Williams.

A lot of celebrities...athletes and actors and pop stars and the like...like to complain (and even whine) about the hardships of being rich and famous and sought after.   The attention they would (and often did) sell their souls for on their way up the ladder becomes a horrible, intrusive burden once they achieve the levels of fame and fortune they lusted after so unabashedly.   Then they feel put upon and trapped by the monster they themselves eagerly created (and yes, Madonna...or "Esther" or whoever the hell you're posing as this week...I'm talking about you among many, many others) and don't hesitate to share their "hardships" with us whenever there's a camera or a microphone around to document their pitiable torment.

Willaims says that he feels as if a burden has been lifted off his life...and I believe him.   He's probably got enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life...especially if he's invested wisely...and the spotlight no longer holds any appeal to him.  Perhaps he will go off and live a happy life offstage without looking back (like Barry Sanders before him)...perhaps he will miss the action and try to make a comeback in the next year or so (like, say, Michael Jordan once or twice)...but for now he's doing what is right for him and his peace of mind.  We should all have such clarity in our lives.