One of the more interesting things to come out of Ricky Williams retirement were his comments about drug use. It seems Williams, one of the best runningbacks in the National Football League, uses marijuana. It wasn't so much that he used the drug I found telling, it was how he claimed to avoid testing positive.
In a story at ESPN.com Williams claimed "he has gotten around drug tests in the past by taking a special liquid players all over the league consume to avoid detection." Now, taking masking agents to cover illegal substance use is hardly news. It is, however, interesting to note that during this current wave of drug scandals that the NFL has dodged attention primarily because of it's perceived tougher enforcement policy.
It seems that the public is more than willing to believe baseball players are on steroids, Olympic athletes are on steroids and Tour de France riders are on steroids, but NFL players are clean because they get tested. Yes, baseball's drug policy isn't a policy at all, but does anyone think Marion Jones or Lance Armstrong doesn't get tested more often than NFL players?
If Ricky Williams can't even get busted using marijuana, do we really think the NFL is going to catch regular users of steroids or other performance enhancing drugs? If the ex-Dolphins star uses a masking agent that "players all over the league consume to avoid detection", how many guys have access to liquids capable of covering up other drugs?
Each season we hear about another 6' 4", 330 pound lineman with great quickness. We raise an eyebrow at power hitting shortstops, figuring they are probably using juice, but huge offensive lineman with great quickness come strictly from solid weight-training and supersizing their meals. I think Williams' openness about the availability of masking agents should put those naive ideals to rest. Or, at least, they should.
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