MULKEYTOWN, Ill. (BP)–Ahmad Miller probably has never met Gardner-Webb University football star Rich Williams. After the recent NFL draft, however, Miller may just see Williams as his new best friend.
Miller, a defensive tackle from UNLV, was the final pick in the draft, going to the expansion Houston Texans as the 261st selection. Williams had been projected as a middle-round selection in the draft, which meant his signing bonus would have been at least six figures. But Williams decided he wasn’t interested in playing professional football and asked teams not to draft him. Thanks to Williams, Miller gained the chance of a lifetime, not to mention a hefty signing bonus.
Williams’ announcement was quite a bombshell around the football world. Who in their right mind would pass up an opportunity to play professional football and make a fortune? Doesn’t Williams know how much some people would give just for a chance to play in the NFL? What is this guy thinking?
He’s thinking — simply enough — that he doesn’t like football that much. Williams said he’d rather pursue a career as a strength and conditioning coach, which he’ll do after he graduates in December from Gardner-Webb, a Baptist-related college in North Carolina.
A 6-3, 330-pound offensive lineman, Williams earned NCAA Division I-AA All-American honors this season. He had met with the Miami Dolphins before asking his agent to cancel trips he had scheduled to visit with a handful of other teams.
“My love for the game had started to wear off long before that, but because I was a decent enough athlete and I had success, I started getting all the attention,” Williams said in a USA Today article. “I came here to get a degree, not [play in] the NFL, and you can only hide how you feel for so long.”
Williams displayed a remarkable amount of maturity and integrity in making the decision. Lesser men would have entered the draft anyway and taken the guaranteed signing bonus before quitting. That isn’t the way Williams works.
“That would have been like stealing, almost like robbing a bank, and there’s no honor in that,” Williams said in USA Today. “I try to be a good Christian man, and I don’t want to cheat a team that believes in me. Not only that, but how would I feel taking a draft spot from some other guy that had worked … his whole life just to get to that point?”
That “other guy” turned out to be Miller, who ought to send Williams a very nice graduation gift in December.
Williams doesn’t have any intention of changing his mind, which some people have suggested he’ll do because of the lure of such a sizeable amount of money.
“Money doesn’t make me happy and, to me, money isn’t the true meaning of success,” Williams said. “It’s family. It’s people who love you. It’s being true to yourself. If you’re not true to yourself, how can you be true to anything?”
That’s quite an attitude, and Williams should be commended for his stance. You don’t hear too many professional athletes talk like that these days, and the NFL will be worse off without Williams’ presence.
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Ellsworth writes a weekly column for BPSports, at www.bpsports.net. (BP) photo posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo title: A HIGHER PASSION.
