-by
Erick Coleman
Chem*is*try
/ noun: the science of dealing with the composition and properties
of substances, and with the reactions by which substances are
produced from or converted into other substances. |
Like any science,
there are many forms of chemistry: quantitative, qualitative, physiological
and pathological to name a few. Often you will hear sports writers
referring to the “chemistry” of a team and how important
that chemistry is to the success of any team. This writer jargon speaks
to all forms of chemistry that I have outlined. Lately the sexy team
to point to (when speaking of “good team chemistry”) is
the New England Patriots.
The National Football League is a copycat league. When Baltimore won
the Super Bowl, teams ramped up their defenses in an attempt to duplicate
success. The St. Louis Rams were a blueprint for many teams that thought
that they had the speed to simply run other teams off the field. In
New England’s first Super Bowl win (over those fast flying St.
Louis Rams), the Patriots were announced to the world as a team, rather
than individual players…and let the “team chemistry”
talk of today begin.
True to form, the National Football League has been scrambling to
follow suit. Coaches are now looking for “team guys.”
Players are being quoted more and more with the eye rolling “there
ain’t no I in team” comment. A problem with the National
Football League (and all team sports, to be fair) is that the league
has far more “Leon’s” (from the Budweiser commercials)
in the league standing close by stating “and there ain’t
no ‘we’, either!”
Ricky Williams is a “Leon.” Make no mistake about that.
Ricky’s inner “Leon” is evident in all aspects of
his life. The weirdness that makes Ricky Williams the Miami Dolphins
own personal “Leon” is not anything new. The New Orleans
Saints simply looked past that weirdness while tripping over themselves
to draft him. William’s “Leon” persona is evident
in his personal life, fathering multiple children with multiple women
(and being behind in child support payments in one case while in another
being forced to undergo DNA testing to prove that, yes, he indeed
fathered yet another child). Ricky Williams worries about Ricky Williams
from beginning to end. Ricky once had a web site, dedicated to, well…Ricky,
entitled “Run Ricky Run.” Self-fulfilling prophecy can
sometimes be scary; Ricky Williams has spent his life running from
himself and others. Run, Ricky, Run indeed!
How does this all tie together, the definition of chemistry and Ricky
Williams? Ricky Williams is every chemistry student’s nightmare
and chemistry professor’s dreams come true. He is two elements
that should not be mixed. He is someone that takes the right mind
to figure out, he is the combustible mixture that starts a fire or
bubbles over and ruins your counter. He is that chemistry experiment
that makes professors preach safety for a half hour before allowing
the students to start. Ricky Williams is something that the chemistry
professors understand the value of and begrudgingly respect, while
the chemistry students wonder, “why do I need to deal with this?”
Even combustible elements have value. Vinegar, when used improperly,
can be made into an explosive. Ricky is more work than most people
should ever have to worry about. Football coaches are not chemistry
professors.
There are no questions about Ricky’s talent. The man, flat out,
could have been one of the best running backs in the National Football
League; maybe even one of the best ever. Talent does not always come
with desire, however, and Ricky has demonstrated that he is sorely
lacking in that department. Some of these desire downfalls are not
Ricky’s fault; he is clinically diagnosed with a chemical (there
is that word again) imbalance in his brain. Ricky suffers from Panic
Anxiety disorder. This affects millions of Americans and is most readily
treated with the drug called Paxil, which has wonderful upsides and
serious downsides. Numerous studies have shown through the years that
people with Ricky’s condition infamously stop taking their medication
after a certain time. They start to feel better or “normal”
and rationalize that they don’t need the medication any longer
to function properly. Sometimes the abandonment of the drug is due
to stressors that are beyond the patient’s control. "Adverse
events and poor compliance are often stumbling blocks in treating
disorders like social anxiety disorder. As a result, many patients
continue to suffer the debilitating symptoms of their condition, which
often severely limits their social, home and work relationships,"
said Dr. Murray Stein, Professor of Psychiatry, University of California
San Diego. "The draw back to the normalcy Paxil offer patients
is that patients begin to lose the vision of why they feel that normalcy
in the first place. That loss of vision almost always creates the
set back of non compliance with the medication. This is an unfortute
citrical situation."1 Seemingly this is the downfall that happened
with Ricky, he stopped taking his medication following his first season
with the Miami Dolphins. This is when two combustible agents were
combined to spill over and ruin the counter that is the Miami Dolphins:
Ricky started to feel badly about himself while the coaching staff
managed his skills incorrectly. Actions such as Williams quitting
last July do not come about abruptly, although many saw that as the
Dolphins being left hung out to dry. This action by Williams started
sooner than that, perhaps into the previous season. One could see
the difference in Ricky that year in the way he played.
The question has now been raised: “Should Miami take Ricky back?”
So much has been made of William’s erratic behavior and drug
use (marijuana) that the real bottom line is being missed: This is
a man that is not able to function the way most people function. The
chemistry in his brain is not set up the same as you and I; the neurons
fire in a different way. Medicating this problem is a stopgap; Ricky
will improve and say the right things. Ricky will feel like Ricky
the football player again. Coaches will preach success, media will
preach that Ricky needed a new start, fans will cheer as Ricky rushes
for another team record and all will be right again in the world of
Ricky Williams and the Miami Dolphins. I am here to tell you that
this will not last. It can’t.
Ricky Williams will eventually stop taking his medication, if he ever
decides to go back on it While no one can offer proof of an item that
has not yet occurred, previous traits and actions are wonderful crystal
balls into the future. Ricky has shown that stressors combine to make
him do odd and strange things: conducting interviews with football
helmets on and quitting football teams being two examples. What proof
has Ricky shown that he has the ability to maintain medication compliance?
One of the pitfalls of the medication itself is fooling (for lack
of a better term) the person that they are better and do not need
it anymore. In extreme cases this leads to high rates of suicide;
in most cases it leads to extreme personality changes. In a true testimony
to the chain that is chemistry, Ricky’s brain chemistry breakdown
will trickle back into the locker room of the Miami Dolphins and will
infest that arena once again. One need not possess ESP to forge this
prediction; simply do research on Ricky’s diagnosis and medication
paths. They are time tested and right as rain.
The final question is this: Should Miami take Ricky Williams back?
It is vital for all involved to understand the differences of short-term
success and long-term prognosis. Ricky Williams has immediate value
to the Miami Dolphins and, in turn, the Miami Dolphins have immediate
value to Ricky Williams. The end result will be the same, and the
team helmet that Williams’s dons will not change that.
Chemistry is an exact science and a wonderful predictor of the future.
Ricky Williams cannot outrun chemistry. Hopefully the Miami Dolphins,
and their fans, understand this.
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