If I had the means to retire and trek around Asia at 27, I probably would have made that choice, too.

It's OK if Ricky Williams wants to leave the Miami Dolphins and the NFL in his prime despite the fact he is one of the top running backs in the game. It's his decision and he's entitled to it. It's Williams' life, and if this is the path he wants to take it's OK. More power to him, really.

However, it is not OK the way Williams is leaving the Dolphins. He is leaving his team in a lurch with his sudden announcement to retire. It was not expected and now, on the eve of training camp — this is a make-or-break season for coach Dave Wannstedt and his staff — the Dolphins have been thrown in a crisis situation.

The Miami offense was centered around Williams, for whom the Dolphins mortgaged their future two years ago by sending two first-round picks to New Orleans, and his departure will change everything. It also changes the Dolphins' chances. There is no way Miami can now be considered a serious threat to unseat Super Bowl champion New England in the AFC East. Not now.

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Sure, change has to be expected, to a certain degree, in professional sports at all times. Injuries happen all the time. That is uncontrollable.

But a player's feelings are under his control. Williams just didn't roll out of his South Beach bed the other day and decide he didn't want to deal with being a football player and wondered what life in Asia is like. He had to be thinking about it for several months.

He needed to retire earlier than in the dark of July 24. He owed that much to the team that made him their centerpiece.

Three years ago, Robert Smith stunned the Vikings when he retired at 28. He was a prospective free agent but the Vikings had the money and desire to retain him. He was a Viking. His sudden retirement hurt. But there was one major difference between Smith's and Williams' decisions.

Smith retired in the first week of February. The Vikings had plenty of time to figure out how replace Smith. They did so by drafting Michael Bennett in the first round.

The Dolphins are not being afforded this luxury. They have to make Travis Minor the starting tailback. The difference between Williams and Minor being the workhorse back is the difference between four or five victories. Minor is not a workhorse NFL back.

The Dolphins have to do something, but there's little to do. Even if Williams had made his decision two days earlier, it would have been beneficial to Miami. The Dolphins could have made a run at Eddie George or Antowain Smith. Neither are the caliber of Williams, but both are pretty good gets in the middle of July. Now, of course, George and Smith are off the board.

What's out there? Trung Candidate? Stacey Mack? James Stewart? Nothing, that's what out there.

Williams left the Dolphins in a lurch, all right. Has he ever heard of a two-week notice?
This decision is disrespectful to his coaches, the organization and his teammates. if Williams doesn't have his heart in the game, then it's the best that he doesn't touch a football again. That's fine. But the timing is awful.

Some have suggested that it's the Dolphins own fault for acquiring Williams in the first place. When they dealt for him. there were plenty of warning signs. Remember, the wedding dress, the interviews while wearing his helmet, social issues and the medication. Then there was the recent failed drug.

Indeed, Williams has baggage that would make Prada proud and a reputation for being stranger than Michael Jackson. The Dolphins did know what they had acquired and as a result have lost a gamble with this monumental head case.

Still, that doesn't mean the team should be in this predicament so close to training camp. Williams may be a different cat, but even unusual people should be held accountable for basic adult traits such as respect and consideration.

Williams has every right to move on with his life, but not at the expense of leaving the team that gave him the financial freedom to retire in a horrible bind this close to the season.

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