Former NFL star quarterback and longtime analyst Joe Theismann called Ricky Williams "a disgrace to the game" two days after the running back began his one-year stay with the Toronto Argonauts while he serves a substance-abuse suspension from the NFL, ESPN said.

"I don't ever want to be mentioned in the same breath as Ricky Williams as a football player," said Theismann, who started his pro football career with the Argonauts before signing with the Washington Redskins and later led them to a Super Bowl victory over the Miami Dolphins in 1983. "He's a disgrace to the game. The man doesn't deserve to play football.

"He should go on with his life and treat his drug addictions or go do whatever he wants to do. He's been suspended from the NFL on multiple occasions. Doesn't anybody have any class anywhere? For gosh sakes, let the kid go do what he wants to do. He doesn't want to play football."

Theismann, part of ESPN's Monday Night Football announcing crew, told ESPN Radio that he was "embarrassed now to be a Toronto Argonaut."

Theismann did say in the interview that Williams was a "good kid" but that he has gotten too many chances.

"Listen, we have rules in the National Football League. It's real simple. Don't do drugs and you can play. It's a privilege to be able to play professional football. It's not a rite of passage. He's insulted the Miami Dolphins after they took him back and gave him a chance to play. Now he insults the intelligence of everybody that thinks that doing drugs is OK. To me, it's the wrong message to send to kids. It's the wrong thing to be doing, and the Toronto Argonauts have embarrassed themselves as an organization signing him," Theismann said.

On Monday, clad in shoulder pads, shorts and a blue practice jersey with his new No. 27, the suspended Miami Dolphins running back appeared to be in great shape Monday during his first practice with the Argonauts.

FREE VIDEO 'They seem excited to have me here' May 29: Toronto Argonauts running back Ricky Williams talks about his first day with the team, and team quarterback Damian Allen has nothing but praise for his new teammate.

Williams was suspended by the NFL for the entire 2006 season following a fourth positive drug test. But the Dolphins gave him permission to play this year in the CFL, and he signed with Toronto on Sunday.

“I made it. I survived, so I guess I’m OK,” Williams said. “From my perspective, it’s the same practice that I’ve had since I was a kid. It’s football practice.

“As far as talent ... the talent here is comparable to the NFL, it’s just consistency. From what I saw out there, these guys can run, these guys can hit, these guys know what they’re doing. Football is football. There are a couple of differences in the game but for the most part it’s just terminology.”

FREE VIDEO 'It would have been tough to come back to the Dolphins' May 28: Toronto Argonauts president Keith Pelley vows that Ricky Williams 'is clean,' and the running back discusses his decision to sign with the CFL team rather than not play football while he serves a 1-year suspension.

The 5-foot-10, 220-pound Williams rushed for 743 yards (4.4 yards per carry) in 12 games for Miami last year after missing the first four games following his third positive drug test. Williams, who turned 29 recently, has surpassed 1,000 rushing yards four times in the NFL, including a league-high 1,852 yards in 2002 with Miami.

“He looked good,” Argos quarterback Damon Allen said. “Today was his first day and he was able to pick up a lot of things. I found you didn’t have to tell him stuff, which shows he’s football smart.”

Williams showed good hands Monday, catching all five swing passes thrown his way.

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“It’s a part of my game that I haven’t been able to do a lot in the NFL,” Williams said. “But I’m excited. I think it will make me a better all-around player, definitely.”

Allen agrees.

“Ricky can catch the football,” Allen said. “He has the ability to move his body and adapt and catch the ball. I think it will give another dimension to his game because everyone thinks he’s just a running back.”